<9 ^^-^ 



W ." 







c? ^ 






& 






\<** J 






"• ^ * 



V^ 



^ <k 



<& % \\ 



W- 



y^-..% 






* o^ 















^d* : 



\^ 



Y * A ^ 

^ -ft. * jA &8 A *^x « * 









\ * 









\ 



\^ 










ft? ^ 







v^ 




V" 






















^ ;Ma° xp<^ ~iM%; ^^ ~^M»° Z w 



%>« 



<S <* 







. <& 




' %% fsv;>X" 






»' 



l^# :^fc % ^ : 



V ^ * /^ ^ 



b$ 



*% V . < * o 



• slip* <$? ^ * ^ffp - # ^ V^Sr,* ^ ^ %^5§s 






w 



ifr 



;-. w 






^0* 

35 a, 






v*^^\r\., 



», ^ 






w 






\. / / 






v^ 



/ * * s s A G ^ 



■^s 









^ a^ . r ^#Au % . ^. .<& *W4 , X^p_ > 



c5> ^ 






S Sk 













^°- 

















POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL 
GEOLOGY 

AND THE 

WORLD'S MINERAL RESOURCES 



^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiniimiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 




l\k Qraw-MlBock Qx 7m 

PUBLISHERS OF BOOKS F O R^ 

Coal Age * Electric Railway Journal 
Electrical World v Engineering News-Record 
American Machinist v Ingenierfa Internacional 
Engineering 8 Mining Journal ^ Power 
Chemical & Metallurgical Engineering 
Electrical Merchandising 



nmnni 



fmrrmnr 




POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL 
GEOLOGY 



AND THE 



WORLD'S MINERAL RESOURCES 



A SERIES OF STUDIES BY SPECIALISTS 



J. E. SPURR, Editor 



First Edition 
Second Impression 



Royalties received from the sale of this book will be 
assigned to an institution of learning to finance 
further studies along the lines followed in the volume. 



McGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY, Inc. 

NEW YORK: 370 SEVENTH AVENUE 

LONDON: 6 & 8 BOUVERIE ST., E. C. 4 

1920 






Copyright, 1920, by the 
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. 






fi^Jsumy^- 



rfiQ 



XHE M-A.PX.E PRESS YORK PA 



3* 



PREFACE 

The purpose of the accompanying series of studies is to shed light 
upon the vast importance of commercial control of raw materials by differ- 
ent powers, or by the citizens of those powers, through invested capital. 
The question of domestic and foreign governmental policies of the United 
States is closely involved. It appeared to many of us who were engaged 
(as all the authors of these papers were) in studying the mineral problems 
during the war, that our Government had never grasped the vast political 
significance of commercial domination, and especially of the control of 
mineral wealth; and that other more seasoned nations had done so, and 
thereby affected the interests of America and her policy very deeply, 
without her being aware of the circumstance. 

With the rapid increase of the world's population and the exploring 
and exploiting of the hitherto undeveloped natural resources, competi- 
tion for this wealth has become and will still become keener. In past 
ages war, pestilence, and starvation held down the earth's population; 
and in the last few years all these grim spectres have returned in force, 
suggesting the possibility of a permanent return of the old primitive 
days. Nevertheless, modern science and organization, if not quenched 
by vast social disorders, will so safeguard life, as in recent times, that the 
world is in a fair way to become crowded. All of us, like Germany, 
yearn for our " place in the sun," and our share of comfort and power. 
Of all the fundamental necessities for this, nothing is so much in the 
nature of a fixed and unmultipliable quality as the metals; they constitute 
the basis and foundation of our modern civilization and power over man 
and natural forces. Other raw materials are of vegetable or animal 
origin; they propagate and duplicate themselves in successive incarnations 
according to the law of life; they are born in some magical fashion of air 
and water, with a minimum of the earth, and they return their loans 
faithfully to air and water and earth with the passing of each generation 
and the dawning of a new. There is the hint of such a law of growth in 
the mineral kingdom, but it is so vastly slow that the evanescent animal 
man has no personal interest in it; for all his purposes and by all his 
standards of measurement it is inert, and these riches, once dug and used, 
will never again be available. The treasures of commercially valuable 
ore-deposits have been hid by nature whimsically throughout the earth, 
here and there, by no rule of geography or latitude, and with a great 
disregard of equality. A nation's needs or desires for mineral wealth 
have no stated relation to its actual mineral possessions; what it needs 



Vl PREFACE 

is often in the territory of another nation which does not need it. Com- 
merce is thus born, and the nation which must have the metal or ore in 
question backs up its commerce and helps it to fasten its claims for per- 
manent control of the deposits in question, by legislation, by diplomacy, 
and, if need be, by war. In the case of war, the metallic prize falls to 
the strongest — usually the nation which before, through its necessities, 
exercised only commercial control, but which, as the result of the trial 
of strength, now frankly asserts its sovereignty. 

Have we as Americans realized these forces? Absolutely not, I 
should say. How many realize that the Alsace-Lorraine question is and 
was not a sentimental one, but a struggle for the greatest iron deposits 
of Europe and the second largest in the world, which gave Germany her 
immense growth and power, and may now transfer that wealth and 
power to France? That the dispute between Poland and Germany as to 
Upper Silesia is not a question of nationality, sentiment, or even terri- 
tory, but concerns the greatest coal field of Europe as well as great de- 
posits of lead and zinc? If Poland gets this, she may rival Germany in 
wealth and importance; if Germany loses it, she may drop into the posi- 
tion of a second-rate power, now that she has also had to give up Alsace- 
Lorraine. To submit such a question to the vote of the native popula- 
tion is of the same order of fitness as tossing a coin for it; but how many 
of us have understood this? Population shifts and changes, swells or 
shrinks, may be at one time predominantly Polish and at another time 
mainly German; but the coal deposits are fixed. To clarify these things 
we should in place of Silesia say Coal, in the place of Alsace-Lorraine, 
Iron, and so on. 

The reason we have not realized these facts is on account of our own 
vast mineral wealth, so abundant that not till recently has American 
capital and enterprise found it necessary to adventure into the outside 
world, as the European nations had long ago done. Their natural 
wealth was limited so that they have become familiar with those funda- 
mental principles and laws of which we have been unconscious. From 
this has arisen European foreign policies, the protection of their national 
commerce and national capital in foreign enterprises and consequently 
at home; governmental participation in business combinations, as in 
Germany, England, France, and Italy; while the United States has been 
engaged in " trust-busting" and has neglected the protection of its in- 
vestors in foreign countries. This illustrates the difference between 
European diplomacy and American guilelessness. How well this played 
into the hands of foreign powers it is unnecessary to explain. The 
spectacle of the United States maintaining a Monroe Doctrine of protec- 
tion over Latin-American republics which she took no vigorous steps to 
unite with her by the powerful bonds of commerce, must well have 
excited the amusement of those European commercial nations like 



PREFACE vii 

Germany who have been strengthening themselves in those countries 
by the closest commercial, and hence political, ties. 

This volume simply takes up the study of the actual situation, as to 
the distribution and ownership of mineral supplies in the world, and the 
author of each chapter is a well-known specialist. 

First is considered the question of petroleum, source of power and 
light, the key to the mastery of the air, and, on account of its fluid and 
easily transportable condition, of extraordinary future importance. 
Next are taken up the great fuel mineral, coal, and its ally, the great 
metallic mineral, iron, which must go together for the manufacture of iron 
and steel, the backbone of all our mechanical achievements. Next come 
those metals indispensable in steel making and in the manufacture of 
specially hard or tough steels. These are of great importance, and in- 
clude manganese, chromium, nickel, tungsten, vanadium, antimony, 
molybdenum, uranium, and zirconium. Radium is closely associated 
with uranium and is considered with it. Closely allied with zirconium 
are thorium and mesothorium, and their treatment therefore closely 
follows that of zirconium. 

The next great group is that of the major metals, other than iron 
and the ferro-alloy metals: copper, lead, zinc, tin and mercury, and 
aluminum. Aluminum ores are used not only as sources of the metal, 
but for the manufacture of refractories and abrasives. Therefore they 
are classed partly with the metallic and partly with the non-metallic 
minerals; and the other non-metallic minerals, used likewise for abra- 
sives, refractories, and other uses — such minerals as emery and corun- 
dum, magnesite, graphite, mica, and asbestos — follow. 

The next great group is that of the fertilizer minerals — phosphate 
rock, potash, nitrates and nitrogen, and pyrite and sulphur, all essential 
for agriculture. 

The last group is that of the precious metals, gold, silver, and plat- 
inum, essential for coinage and in the arts. 

These various studies are essentially both inclusive and elementary: 
together they form almost the first contribution to the branch of investi- 
gation — that of the relation of geology to industry, commerce, and 
political economy — which they cover; and it is natural that beginnings 
should be rather crude. Moreover, many of the chapters were written 
a year or more previous to the publication of the volume, and although 
brought to date to the extent possible in the brief time available, are 
considered inadequate by the authors themselves. Apologies for short- 
comings and possible inaccuracies are therefore very much in order. 
Nevertheless, it is felt that the volume merits publication, and that the 
beginning here made is far better than no start at all. 

Josiah Edward Spurr. 



CONTENTS 

Page 

Preface v 

Chapter 

"±. Petroleum, by John D. Northrop 1 

II. Coal, by George S. Rice and Frank F. Grout 22 

III. Iron, by E. C. Harder and F. T. Eddingfield 55 

IV. Manganese, by D. F. Hewett 90 

V. Chromium, by E. C. Harder 109 

VI. Nickel, by C. S. Corbett. 129 

VII. Tungsten, by Frank L. Hess 142 

Vlll. Vanadium, by R. B. Moore 163 

IX. Antimony, by H. G. Ferguson and D. A. Hall 172 

X. Molybdenum, by R. B. Moore 191 

XI. Radium and Uranium, by R. A. F. Penrose, Jr 201 

Xll. Zirconium, by H. C. Morris 209 

XIII. Monazite, Thorium, and Mesothorium, by R. B. Moore .... 216 

-XIV. Copper, by F. W. Paine 223 

XV. Lead, by Frederick B. Hyder 261 

XVI. Zinc, by Frederick B. Hyder 294 

XVII. Tin, by James M. Hill 317 

XVIII. Mercury, by F. L. Ransome 337 

XIX. Bauxite and Aluminum, by James M. Hill 349 

XX. Emery and Corundum, by Frank J. Katz 356 

XXI. Magnesite, by R. W. Stone 363 

XXII. Graphite, by H. G. Ferguson, Frank F. Grout, and George D. Dub 372 

XXIII. Mica, by Durand A. Hall 380 

XXIV. Asbestos, by Oliver Bowles 388 

XXV. Phosphate Rock, by R. W. Stone 402 

XXVI. Potash, by Hoyt S. Gale and A. W. Stockett 411 

XXV11. Nitrogen, by Chester G. Gilbert 421 

XXVIII. Pyrite and Sulphur, by A. G. White 447 

XXIX. Gold, by John E. Orchard 462 

XXX. Silver, by F. W. Paine 495 

— XXXI. Platinum, by James H. Hill 506 

XXXII. Who Owns the Earth ? by J. E. Spurr 522 



IX 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

AND THE 

WORLD'S MINERAL RESOURCES 

CHAPTER I 

PETROLEUM 

By John D. Northrop 1 
INTRODUCTION 
By J. E. Spurr 

Coal and iron are the backbone of industrial civilization, and should 
be considered first in any attempt to analyze the ownership and control, as 
between nations, of the world's mineral resources. Kin to coal in growing 
importance, however, is the lighter, fluid and volatile mineral substance, 
petroleum, whose significance is vast and as yet not wholly defined. 
More easily transportable than coal, and yielding refined products whose 
explosive action in internal-combustion engines furnishes greater power 
in proportion to weight than was once deemed possible, petroleum and 
its products, apart from their immense direct economic importance, may, 
in the automobile, the submarine, and the air plane, and through numer- 
ous other applications, control strategically, from a nationalistic stand- 
point, the more inert foundations of civilization. Moreover, the use of 
crude petroleum as fuel, especially for ships, is of the most vital impor- 
tance in these days of greater competitive plans for expanding world-wide 
commerce, and establishing the strength and ready efficiency of navies. 
Great maritime nations must have, for their oil-burning ships, oil- 
bunkering stations under their own control in all parts of the world where 
they wish their commerce to dominate, and their navies to protect their 
interests efficiently. 

The recognition by certain strong and aggressive nationalities of this 
critical factor has brought about a situation that is perhaps unparalleled 

1 In this article, prepared in June, 1918, by Mr. Northrop, have been incorporated 
certain notes and additions; as, for example, information furnished by E. Russell 
Lloyd, of the United States Geological Survey; A. G. White and W. E. Perdue, of the 
Bureau of Mines, and others. (J. E. S.) 

1 



2 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

in the mineral history of the world. Coal and iron have always been 
decidedly static as to control — they have remained largely under the 
supervision and direction of the countries in which they occur. Trans- 
portation costs, the conjunction of iron and coal deposits, and other 
factors have prevented these minerals, in spite of their vast importance, 
from being fully used as a world commodity. By contrast, petroleum 
is coming to be universal, like gold, in its acceptance and applicability; 
but, unlike gold, it is essential in the highest degree to the advance of 
modern civilization. The fluidity of this mineral, its consequent amaz- 
ingly cheap transportation and handling by pipe lines, the completeness 
with which it can be utilized, all combine toward making it in the future 
the crucial factor of commercial and of political control. Moreover, this 
fluidity of form and ease of application facilitate the control of petroleum 
by vast commercial organizations, like the Standard Oil of America, and 
others in various parts of the world; and even make its world control 
feasible and probable. Recognizing this tendency, many nations, like 
England, France, Holland, Argentina, and Mexico, have taken steps look- 
ing toward a partial nationalization of their petroleum resources, in order 
to protect themselves against foreign commercial aggression in this par- 
ticular. England has gone farthest in this direction, and has reached and 
is reaching out ^aggressively into other countries to secure, through 
commercial control, backed where necessary by political pressure, a world 
empire of petroleum to serve her world-wide colonial empire. The 
United States, on the other hand, has dominated the world's petroleum 
industry through her own vast resources, worked by interests which 
have grown without conscious governmental help or even in spite of govern- 
mental and popular opposition, and have reached out and secured foot- 
holds in other countries. 

In the past the mineral development of the world has led to great 
changes in political sovereignty. Important as these have been, the 
events that may result from the nationalistic competitive exploitation 
and control of the world's petroleum supply bid fair to exceed in impor- 
tance all similar changes of the past. The perception of the problem and 
of the necessity, and the advantage of the initiative, naturally belongs to 
those nations with restricted area and resources, that have grown great 
by trading and by exploiting the resources of other countries. Such a 
nation, for example, is England, a country that is fortunately the natural 
ally of the United States. By contrast, in the United States, a nation 
concerned hitherto only with the development of its own vast resources, 
commercial enterprise in foreign countries has been backed by no fixed 
national policy, and indeed has often been treated as unworthy. In the 
new international era that was initiated by the World War, however, 
this policy of Chinese self-sufficiency and exclusion can not be safely 
continued, and the United States must not only perceive clearly the 



PETROLEUM 3 

tendencies and movements of other nationalities, but consider how best 
to direct its own commercial and political plans so as to uphold its in- 
dependence and power. Such a policy would naturally lead to inter- 
national agreements as to the distribution and division of petroleum 
lands, resources, and production, and probably no one thing would con- 
tribute more to the promotion of frank understanding between nations 
and the removal of obstacles to permanent peace. 
Mr. Northrop's paper follows: 

USES OF PETROLEUM 

In its crude or semi-refined state, petroleum is extensively utilized as 
fuel under locomotive and marine boilers and to a small extent in internal- 
combustion engines of the Diesel type. Certain grades of petroleum are 
utilized in the crude state as lubricants. 

The principal use of petroleum is for the manufacture of refined 
products, of which the number and uses are legion. The lightest 
gravity, etherial products are employed as anaesthetics in surgery. The 
gasolines are the universal fuels of internal -combustion engines, and the 
naphthas are widely used as solvents and for blending with raw casinghead 
gasoline in the manufacture of commercial gasoline. The kerosene 
group includes a variety of products utilized primarily as illuminants, 
but in annually increasing quantities as fuel in farm tractors. The lubri- 
cating oils and the greases derived from petroleum are indispensable to 
the operation of all types of machinery. The waxes derived from petro- 
leum of paraffin base are utilized in many forms as preservatives and 
as sources of illumination, and in the last three years have become in- 
dispensable constituents of surgical dressings in the treatment of burns. 
Petroleum coke, because of its purity, is in demand for use in certain 
metallurgical processes and for the manufacture of battery carbons and 
arc-light pencils. Fuel oils obtained as by-products of petroleum refin- 
ing satisfy the fuel needs of many industrial plants, railroads and ocean 
steamers. Road oils, as the name implies, are employed for minimizing 
dust on streets and highways; and artificial asphalt, a product of certain 
types of petroleum, has in many localities superseded the use of other 
forms of asphalt for paving purposes. 

Substitutes. — For petroleum as a fuel under boilers in the generation 
of steam there are numerous substitutes, including wood, charcoal, coal, 
peat, natural gas, artificial gas, and electricity; as a fuel in internal- 
combustion engines some demonstrated substitutes are natural gas, 
artificial gas, benzol, and alcohol, and in the Diesel type of engine certain 
vegetable and fish oils can be utilized. 

For illuminating purposes, animal fats, oils distilled from coal, natural 



4 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

gas, artificial gas, acetylene gas and electricity may be substituted for 
kerosene. 

For certain types of lubrication carefully refined vegetable and mineral 
oils are acceptable, but for lubricating high-speed bearings and for all 
lubrication in the presence of high temperature and of steam no satis- 
factory substitutes for mineral lubricants derived from petroleum are 
known. 

Substitutes for petroleum asphalt are available in the form of native 
asphalts, bituminous rocks, and coal-tar residues. For petrolatum, 
animal fats and vegetable oils can be substituted, and for paraffin wax, 
ozokerite might be made to satisfy such essential requirements as could 
not be met by refrigeration or by vegetable and animal oils. 

CHANGES IN PRACTICE 

Probable changes in practice that may be expected to affect the petro- 
leum industry within the next ten years include an increased dependence 
by oil producers on geologic investigations in advance of drilling, the 
development of methods for deeper drilling than is now practicable, 
and the more efficient handling of individual wells and of entire prop- 
erties, with a view to the ultimate recovery, at minimum cost, of a 
higher percentage of the oil originally present. 

The tendency toward amalgamation of individual producing, trans- 
porting, refining and marketing interests into strong units capable of 
competition in domestic and foreign markets on relatively equal terms 
with each other and with pre-existing combinations of equivalent strength 
will doubtless increase, and with the growing strength of the several units 
will come an efficient and thorough quest for petroleum in all parts of the 
world. 

In the refining of petroleum it is probable that methods will be devised 
and perfected for recovering more of the light-gravity products from low- 
grade petroleum and for the conversion of the less-salable products of 
petroleum into products of greatest current demand. Moreover, it is 
believed that internal- combustion engines will be so modified as to run 
successfully on petroleum products of lower volatility than gasoline. 
The use of petroleum as railroad, marine, and industrial fuel is destined 
to increase enormously in the next decade. 

Although an important contributor to the oil-supply of Great Britain, 
the shale-oil industry has received little attention in recent years outside 
of Scotland. Investigations by the United States Geological Survey 
have demonstrated that the United States contains vast deposits of oil 
shale in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Nevada, much of which will 
average higher in oil content than the Scottish shale. Efforts already 
begun to develop methods for the recovery of shale oil on a commercial 



PETROLEUM 5 

scale in the United States will undoubtedly result in the establishment 
of a shale-oil industry in this country within the next two or three years. 
The future growth of this industry will depend largely on the rapidity 
of the decline in the domestic production of petroleum. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

Commercial accumulations of petroleum are everywhere restricted to 
strata of sedimentary origin. In the United States petroleum is produced 
commercially from strata of all periods from Cambrian to Quaternary, 
the most prolific sources being in strata of the Carboniferous and Terti- 
ary systems. The geological age of the chief sources of petroleum pro- 
duction in each of the other oil-producing countries of the world is indi- 
cated in the table following: 

Table 1. — Geologic Age op Petroleum-bearing Formations 

Country System 

North America 

Canada Silurian and Devonian 

Mexico Cretaceous and basal Tertiary 

Alaska Tertiary (?) 

West Indies 

Trinidad , Tertiary- 
Cuba Cretaceous and pre-Cretaceous 

South America 

Colombia Cretaceous and Tertiary 

Venezuela Cretaceous and Tertiary 

Peru Tertiary 

Argentina Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary 

Europe 

Russia Tertiary 

Roumania Tertiary 

Galicia Tertiary 

Italy Tertiary 

Germany (Alsace) Tertiary and pre-Tertiary 

Asia 

India Tertiary 

Turkestan Tertiary 

Persia Tertiary 

Africa 

Algeria Tertiary 

Egypt Tertiary 

Oceania 

Japan Tertiary 

Dutch East Indies Tertiary 

New Zealand Cretaceous and Tertiary 

From the foregoing table one might conclude that a direct relation 
exists between the distribution of Tertiary rocks and the supply of petro- 
leum, but in the United States, which produces two-thirds of the world's 



6 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

current supply, the quest for petroleum has, under scientific direction, 
included the entire range of the stratigraphic column, and has found 
petroleum in considerable quantities in the rocks of each geologic system 
younger than the Cambrian. 

The fact that seeps and other surface indications of petroleum are 
generally more pronounced in the relatively younger Mesozoic strata than 
in the older Paleozoic formations, and the further fact that geologic 
exploration for oil and gas in countries other than the United States 
has been restricted in the main to areas containing the most pronounced 
indications of petroleum, tend to account for the predominance of the 
Tertiary system in the foregoing table and to indicate the fallacy of at- 
tempts to estimate the world's reserves of petroleum on stratigraphic 
evidence alone. 

Despite the broad geologic range of petroleum, its occurrence in 
specific members, formations, groups, series or systems is by no means 
universal. On the contrary, its occurrence is restricted to specific locali- 
ties in which are fulfilled certain variable relations, as yet but little under- 
stood, that involve (1) the constitution, sequence and content of organic 
matter of the sediments ; (2) the nature and degree of metamorphism they 
have undergone; (3) their structure; and (4) their degree of saturation 
with salt water. Because the most detailed geologic work is insuffi- 
cient to provide a basis for the appropriate evaluation of the numerous 
factors involved, and because only a relatively small percentage of the 
areas of sedimentary rocks in the world have been examined geologically 
in appreciable detail, any estimate of the future supply of petroleum in 
the world is peculiarly hazardous. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The geographical distribution of petroleum is as wide relatively as 
its geologic range. The oil fields of present commercial significance are 
situated, in the order of their importance as contributors to the world's 
production of petroleum in 1917, in the United States, Russia, Galicia, 
Mexico, Dutch East Indies, India, Persia, Japan and Formosa, Roumania, 
Peru, Trinidad, Argentina, Egypt, Germany, Canada, Venezuela and 
Italy. Small quantities of petroleum have also been reported from Gua- 
temala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Haiti, Porto Rico, Bolivia, 
Chile, Spain, Arabia, China, Australia, Papua, Philippine Islands, 
Nigeria, Belgian Congo, Gold Coast, Madagascar, and elsewhere. The 
geographical distribution of petroleum in the world is shown on the 
accompanying map. (Plate I.) 

In the opinion of the author the most conspicuous developments of 
the world's supply of petroleum in the next decade will take place in the 
countries that border the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The 



PETROLEUM 




8 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

trend in this direction is unmistakable. From 1913 to 1917, the 
annual production of petroleum in Mexico increased from 21,000,000 
barrels to 56,000,000 barrels, and the potentialities of future production 
in that country have been demonstrated to be almost beyond compre- 
hension. The output, originally considered valuable only as a source 
of fuel oil, is now yielding, by modern refining methods, increasingly 
important percentages of illuminating oils and gasoline. The only obsta- 
cles to enormously increased production are unsettled political conditions 
and inadequate facilities for marine transportation. These obstacles 
will doubtless be overcome within the next few years, and barring un- 
foreseen contingencies Mexico will soon rank second among the oil-pro- 
ducing countries of the world. 1 Judged by the results of exploratory 
work already done in Venezuela and Colombia, both of those countries 
are destined to contribute appreciably to the world's supply of petroleum 
within the next decade. Recently Colombia has given enough evidence 
of ability to furnish high-grade petroleum from wells of large individual 
capacity to warrant the large interests holding concessions there to exert 
every effort to overcome the adverse natural conditions that have so 
long barred the way to exploitation. Enough drilling has already been 
done in Venezuela to demonstrate that the resources of heavy-gravity 
asphalt-base petroleum in that country are large, and the recent installa- 
tion of a modern petroleum refinery for the treatment of these oils on 
the island of Curacao, off the Venezuelan coast, has provided the market 
necessary to active field development. 

In Trinidad the production of petroleum exceeds 1,500,000 barrels a 
year and has doubled in the last few years. With the increased facilities 
for ocean transport of petroleum that are becoming available, a large 
output is assured. 

Cuba is not expected to become an important producer of petroleum, 
and present knowledge concerning the petroleum resources of the Cen- 
tral American countries is not such as to warrant the belief that oil 
fields of material consequence will be developed in any of them. 

Petroleum production in the United States is expected to reach its 
maximum within the next two or three years and to decline steadily 
thereafter, although this country is expected to remain the leading oil- 
producing country of the world for the greater part, if not all, of the 
coming decade. 

As regards those oil-producing countries of North and South America 
that have not been already mentioned, no significant changes in their 
present status are anticipated. 

The petroleum resources of Russia (including Asiatic Russia) are 
believed sufficient to assure that country retaining its position as the 
leading producer of petroleum in the Eastern Hemisphere far beyond the 

1 Mexico ranked second in 1918 and 1919. 



PETROLEUM 9 

next decade. During the last few years the output has been obtained 
under increasing difficulties, and as a consequence there has been no 
measure either of present productive capacity or of potentialities. Con- 
cerning the future of Russia as a source of petroleum Arnold 1 says: "Such 
large areas, both in European and Asiatic Russia, yield unmistakable 
evidence of the presence of oil in large quantities that it is to this country, 
among those of Europe and Asia, to which the future must look for a 
supply." 

Russia being endowed with petroleum reserves, both proved and 
prospective, of great magnitude, the ultimate position of that country 
as the leading oil-producer of the world seems reasonably assured. Its 
immediate future is too intimately dependent on the progress from 
political turmoil to warrant a forecast. 

The oil fields of both Roumania and Galicia are believed to have passed 
their maximum yield, and the possibilities of opening new fields of con- 
sequence in those countries are not considered large enough to justify 
a forecast of anything but a moderate decline of production in future 
years. No material change in the status of the negligible oil fields of 
Italy or of Alsace is anticipated at any time in the future. 

With regard to the situation in Asia, the writer believes that the next 
decade will witness a steady increase in the output of petroleum in India, 
and the probable development of one or more important oil fields in 
Persia and possibly of fields in Asia Minor, Turkestan and China. In 
Oceania the same period will doubtless witness a material increase in the 
production of petroleum in Japan and Formosa and in the Dutch East 
Indies, together with the possible opening of new fields in Papua. Africa 
will doubtless receive considerable attention from oil operators in the 
next ten years, but on the basis of available evidence the results obtained 
in that period will probably not be large enough to affect the petroleum 
situation of the world. 

POLITICAL CONTROL OF PRODUCTION 

The status of the political control of the world's output of petroleum 
in 1917, as determined by the best data now available, is indicated in the 
table following. 

The accompanying diagram (Figure 1) shows the proportion of the 
world's production of petroleum contributed annually by each of the 
principal producing countries in each of the last ten years. 

Aside from the control exercised by Great Britain through its pro- 
tectorate relation over the petroleum resources of Egypt, control of the 
petroleum resources of the various countries is mainly by virtue of state 

1 Arnold, Ralph: "The World's Oil Supply": Report Am. Min. Cong., 19th 
annual session, 1917, pp. 485-486. 



10 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Table 2. — Political Control op the World's Production op Petroleum in 1917 



Source of production 


Quantity of 

production 

(barrels) 


Percentage 
of total 


Country 

exercising 

political 

control 


United States 


335,315,601 

69,000,000 

55,292,770 

12,928,955 

8,078,843 

6,856,063 

5,965,447 

2,898,654 

2,681,870 

2,533,417 

1,599,455 

1,144,737 

1,008,750 

995,764 

205,332 

127,743 

50,334 

19,167 


66.17 
13.62 
10.91 
2.55 
1.59 
1.36 
1.18 
0.57 
0.55 
0.50 
0.32 
0.23 
0.20 
0.20 
0.04 
0.03 
0.01 


United States 


Russia 


Russia 


Mexico 


Mexico 


Dutch East Indies 

India 


Holland 
Great Britain 


Persia 


Persia 


Galicia 


Poland (?) 


Japan and Formosa 

Roumania 


Japan 
Roumania 


Peru 


Peru 


Trinidad 


Great Britain 


Argentina 


Argentina 


(Egypt 


Great Britain 


i Germany 


Germ any 


Canada 


Great Britain 




Venezuela 


\ Italy 


Italy 


Cuba 


Cuba 










506,702,902 


100 . 00 





Ss 



;AIIO+her 
// Japcrrr 
,// Galicia 
'/,'' Rumania 
-^ India 
'"^f. Indies 

Mexico 



Russia 



United 
States 



1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 

Fig. 1. — Proportion of the world's output of petroleum contributed annually by each of 
the chief producing countries, 1908-1917. 



PETROLEUM 



11 



sovereignty. This political control is in proportion to the strength of the 
government in the country exercising it. Recent developments whereby 
the British government becomes the majority stockholder of a corpora- 
tion controlling the oil resources of Persia, practically transfer the 
political control, as well as the commercial control, of Persian petroleum 
from Persia to England. Mexico's recently attempted firm political 
control of her vast petroleum resources depends for its success upon her 
diplomatic ability in dealing with the stronger governments of England 
and the United States, whose nationals have acquired a commercial 
control that is threatened by Mexico's new and decided nationalistic 
policy. 

COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF PRODUCTION 

The commercial control of the world's production of petroleum, as 
far as nations are involved, is determined in the main through direct 
ownership of lands, leases and concessions, or by the control, through 
holding corporations, of subsidiary companies holding fee, leases, min- 
eral rights or concessions of petroleum land. Except in Argentina, where 
the domestic petroleum industry is owned and operated by the state; in 
Germany, where the government participates directly in the financing 
of petroleum enterprises through the Deutsche Bank; and in Persia, 
where the British government owns a substantial interest in a company 
owning and operating extensive concessions, the commercial control of 



Table 3. — Nationality and Extent of Control of Dominant Interest 



Country 



Production in 
1917 (barrels) 



Nationality of 
dominant interests 



Approximate extent 

of control by 

dominant interests 

(per cent.). 



United States 

Russia 

Mexico 

Dutch East Indies. . . 

India 

Persia 

Galicia 

Japan and Formosa. . 

Roumania 

Peru 

Trinidad 

Argentina 

Egypt 

Germany and Alsace 

Canada 

Venezuela 

Italy 



335, 

69, 

55, 

12, 

6, 

6, 

5, 

2, 

2, 

2, 

1, 
1, 

1, 



315,601 
000,000 
292,770 
928,955 
078,843 
856,063 
965,447 
898,654 
681,870 
533,417 
599,455 
144,737 
008,750 
995,746 
205,332 
127,743 
50,000 



United States 

British- Dutch 

United States 

British-Dutch 

British 

British 

German 

Japanese 

British-Dutch 

United States 

British 

Argentinian 

British-Dutch 

German 

United States 1 

British-Dutch 

French 



96 

40 + 

65 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 

36 

70 

80 
100 
100 
100 

80- 

80 (?) 

96 



1 By control of refining facilities. 



1 2 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

the petroleum industry is determined almost wholly by aggregations of 
private capital acting in their own interests. 

So far as the author is aware, Canada is the only country in which the 
petroleum industry may be said to be controlled by foreign (United 
States) interests, this control being by virtue of an essential monopoly 
of pipe-line and refining facilities. 

The preceding table shows, according to the best information avail- 
able, the nationality and approximate extent of control exercised by the 
dominant interest in each of the principal oil-producing countries of the 
world in 1917. 

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF RESOURCES 

The accompanying diagram (Figure 2) shows graphically the approxi- 
mate commercial control of the world's production of petroleum in 
1917. 

Commercial control of the petroleum industry in the United States 
is in the hands of the so-called " Standard Oil Group" of companies, 

Argentine^ 
/fa/ian and 
Japanese 
Interests 




Fig. 2. — Approximate commercial control of the world's production of petroleum in 1917- 

through their control of most of the great pipe-line systems of the 
country, of probably 75 per cent, of the refining facilities and of a sub- 
stantial part of the actual production. Other domestic interests having 
important shares in the control of the petroleum industry in the United 
States include the Southern Pacific Railroad Co., Cities Service 
Co. (Doherty interests), General Petroleum Corporation, Gulf Oil 
Corporation, Ohio Cities Gas Co., Cosden & Co., Sinclair Oil & Refin- 



PETROLEUM 13 

ing Corporation, The Sun Co., the Texas Co., the Tide Water Oil Co., 
and the Union Oil Co. Foreign interests in the United States include 
purely British companies, which control a production of about 2,000,000 
barrels a year; British-Dutch companies represented by the Royal Dutch- 
Shell Syndicate, which control a production of about 9,000,000 barrels 
a year, together with refining and marketing facilities; and Franco- 
Belgian companies controlling a yearly production of about 1,000,000 
barrels. Aside from the very probable holdings by individual Germans 
of shares in companies engaged in one or more phases of the petroleum 
industry of the United States, the author is aware of no organized 
German interest in any phase of the domestic industry. 

Commercial control of the petroleum industry of Russia is, under 
the political conditions now existing in central Europe, largely a matter 
of speculation. As nearly as can be ascertained, the dominant control is 
in the hands of purely British, Franco-British, and British-Dutch (Royal 
Dutch-Shell Syndicate) interests. Certain of the second-named interests 
are allied closely with an additional group of capitalists represented by 
the firm Nobel Bros., of much importance, the present control of which is 
by no means clear, from the literature available on the subject. Though 
originally Swedish, the financial interests now involved in Nobel Bros, 
are believed to include representatives of financial groups in England, 
France, and Germany as well, with control probably lying with the Anglo- 
Swedish interests. Before the war, direct German interest in Russian 
petroleum included control by the Deutsche Bank through a Belgian 
company (the Petrole de Grosny) of the important producing and re- 
fining company, A. I. Akverdoff & Co., control of which is now in British 
or British-Dutch hands. As in the United States, a considerable part of 
the actual production of petroleum in Russia is distributed among a large 
number of individually weak companies, dominated, through the control 
of pipe-line or refining facilities, by one or another of the principal groups. 

Of considerable importance in Russian petroleum affairs at one time 
was the European Petroleum Union, organized for combat in the world 
markets with the Standard Oil trust. This union included among others 
such important petroleum operators as Nobel Bros., the Rothschild 
interests (now Dutch-Shell), Mantaschoff (now Russian General Oil 
Corporation) (British), and the Deutsche Bank, the latter controlling 
Akverdoff and Spies in Russia, together with important companies in 
Roumania and Galicia. How far this union controlled the affairs of its 
constituent companies is not evident from available data, and its present 
influence on companies now operating in Russia is uncertain. 

Conditions in Russia make impossible any definite statement on the 
petroleum situation. A decree of the Bolsheviki government, dated 
June 20, 1918, on the nationalization of the petroleum industry, declared 
as the property of the state all movable and immovable property employed 



14 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

in and belonging to that industry. Trading in oil was declared a state 
monopoly and was delegated to the chief petroleum committee of the 
fuel department of the supreme Council of National Economy. As the 
chief producing areas are now under British military control, this decree 
is ineffective. 

Commercial control of petroleum in Mexico is divided among United 
States, British, and British-Dutch interests, which controlled about 65, 
30 and 2 per cent., respectively, of the production in 1917. The interests 
of the United States include the Doheny group, operating principally as 
the Huasteca and Mexican Petroleum companies; the Standard Oil Co. 
of New Jersey , operating as the Penn-Mex Fuel Co. ; the Sinclair interests, 
operating as the Freeport and Mexican Fuel Oil Co.; the Texas Co.; Gulf 
Co.; Southern Pacific Railroad; and others. The British interests are 
represented by the Pearsons, operating as the Mexican Eagle Oil Co.; 
and the British-Dutch interests by La Corona Petroleum Co., and Chi- 
joles Oil, Ltd., controlled by the Royal Dutch-Shell Syndicate. No 
exclusively German interests are known to hold a substantial portion 
of any important company operating in Mexico. 

Formerly concessions were freely granted to foreign individuals 
and companies for the exploitation of mineral deposits, and oil lands were 
sold by the native owners to foreigners. Article 27 of the constitution 
of 1917 expressly forbids any but Mexican companies acquiring directly 
or operating directly petroleum lands in Mexico. 

All recent concessions for the exploitation of oil properties contain a 
provision stating that the concession will be declared null if any of the 
rights are transferred to any foreign government. The provisions and the 
intent of a series of presidential decrees issued on February 19, 1918, 
July 8, 1918, July 31, 1918, and August 1, 1918, are to nationalize all 
petroleum lands and to permit them to be worked only by Mexican citi- 
zens or by companies that agree to consider themselves Mexican and 
further agree not to invoke the protection of their governments. A bill 
was presented in December, 1918, to carry out Article 27 of the new con- 
stitution, but thus far no action has been taken in the matter. The 
decrees and legislation growing out of Article 27 have been protested by 
the chief petroleum companies operating in Mexico and by their respective 
governments. 

Commercial control of the petroleum resources of the Dutch East 
Indies is in the hands of the Royal Dutch-Shell Syndicate and is essential- 
ly absolute by reason of the restrictions contained in the Netherlands 
East India Mining Act and subsequent supplements on foreign acquisition 
of mining rights in the East Indian Archipelago. Actual control is in 
the hands of the Bataafche Petroleum Maatschappij, which has a capital 
of $56,000,000 divided into five shares, three of which are owned 
by the Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., and two by the Shell Transport 



PETROLEUM 15 

Trading Co. (British). Purely British interests control an inconsequen- 
tial production of petroleum in British North Borneo and in Sarawak. 

Prospecting licenses and concessions are granted only to Dutch 
subjects and to Dutch companies. It is officially stated that the object 
of these restrictions is not to exclude foreign capital; this is precisely 
their effect, and on account of the economic monopoly which the Royal 
Dutch-Shell now has of the petroleum industry of the Dutch East Indies, 
it would be very difficult for any new enterprise to gain a foothold. 

Commercial control of the petroleum resources of India is exercised 
by the Burma Oil Co. through its dominance of production, refineries, 
and pipe-line facilities, and by reason of agreements as to marketing 
with its principal competitor, the British Burma Petroleum Co., both 
controlled by British capital. The Burma Oil Co. is allied with, if not 
directly controlled by, a group of British financiers, one or more of whom 
is interested in companies in Trinidad and in Persia. 

During the war the petroleum industry of Roumania was temporarily 
wholly in control of German and Austrian interests. The advanced 
stage of development of the oil fields prior to the war and the intentional 
damage, much of which is irreparable, wrought in the fields by British 
detachments in 1916, when capture of the fields by Austro-German forces 
became inevitable, are believed, however, to have deprived Germany of 
a large part of the fruits of her conquest, as it is considered doubtful if 
the Roumanian fields can ever again be made to yield petroleum at the 
pre-war rate of 12,000,000 barrels per annum. 

The American Petroleum Institute states that " Roumania is consider- 
ing the erection of a state monopoly of both production and distribution 
on the ruins of the monopoly which Germany sought to establish there 
but was compelled by the armistice to renounce." 

Prior to the war Dutch or rather British-Dutch (Dutch-Shell) inter- % , 
ests controlled about 30 per cent, of the annual production of petroleum 
in Roumania, German interests about 26 per cent., United States interests 
(Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey) about 18 per cent., French interests 
about 16 per cent., purely British interests about 6 per cent., and Belgian 
and Roumanian interests the remainder. 

Through the Austrian " Society Gaz" and the German "Deutsche 
Erdoel Aktien-gesellschaf t, " German interests have dominated the petro- 
leum industry of Ga&cialor years through the direct control of the larger 
producing and refining interests and by reason of the fact that the smaller 
scattered interests were dependent almost entirely on the two leading 
companies, the Galizische Karpathen Petroleum A. G. (controlled by 
Society Gaz), and the Premier Oil & Pipe Line Co. (controlled by the 
Deutsche Erdoel A. G., which is in turn controlled by the Diskonto und 
Bleichroeder, a branch of the Deutches Bank) for their transportation 
and refining facilities. British and Dutch capital were involved in the 



16 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Galician fields prior to the war, but not, it is believed, to a controlling 
extent in either of the dominant companies. 

The petroleum industry of Japan is controlled wholly by Japanese 
interests and to a preponderant extent by a single company, the Nippon 
Oil Co. So far as the author is aware, no foreign interests share in any 
way in the development or control of the Japanese petroleum industry. 

Commercial control of the petroleum industry of Peru is exercised by 
the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey through its subsidiary, the Imperial 
Oil Co. of Canada. This control involves about 70 per cent, of the annual 
production, the remaining 30 per cent, being divided in the ratio of 27 to 
3 between British and Italian interests respectively. So far as is known 
no other interests are involved. 

The interests engaged in the petroleum industry of Trinidad include 
financial groups purely British, controlling about 57 per cent, of the 
production; British-Dutch interests (Dutch-Shell) controlling about 23 
per cent., and United States interests (General Asphalt Co.), controlling 
the remainder. The leading operator in Trinidad is the Trinidad Lease- 
holds, Ltd., a British company that in 1917 produced about 42 per cent, 
of the petroleum output credited to Trinidad that year. 

Commercial control of the petroleum resources of lower Alsace has 
been in the hands of the Vereinigte Pechelbronner Oelbergwerke Gesell- 
shaft and the Deutsche Tiefbohr A. G. Both of these companies are 
believed to be controlled by the Deutsche Bank through the Deutsche 
Erdoel A. G., and the Diskonto und Bleichroeder. The negligible pro- 
duction of petroleum in Hanover is doubtless under the same financial 
control, although data that would warrant a positive statement to that 
effect are not at hand. 

The petroleum reserves of Argentina, which comprise the only areas 
from which petroleum is being commercially produced in that country, 
are operated by the state through the Comodora Rivadavia Petroleum 
Commission. German interests are thought to have been involved in two 
or three unsuccessful efforts in the last decade to obtain petroleum on 
tracts adjacent to the government reserves in the Comodora Rivadavia 
district. 

The petroleum industry in Egypt is controlled wholly by British- 
Dutch capital operating as the Anglo-Egyptian Oilfields, Ltd., a sub- 
sidiary of the Royal Dutch-Shell Syndicate, through the Anglo-Saxon 
Petroleum Co., the last-named company being predominantly British. 

Commercial control of the petroleum industry in Canada is exercised 
in effect by the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, through its subsidiary 
the Imperial Oil Co. of Canada. This control is exercised through a 
virtual monopoly of pipe-fine and refining facilities, and by the producing 
interests, though British and Canadian, being individually small and 
unorganized. 



PETROLEUM 17 

The production of petroleum in Italy, which is small, represents the 
output of two companies, the Petroli dTtalia, in which French capital is 
predominant, and the Petrolifera Italiana, which is believed to be essen- 
tially Italian. 

Financial groups interested in petroleum in Venezuela include the 
Royal Dutch-Shell Syndicate (British-Dutch), the General Asphalt Co., 
(United States), and a group of British financiers who control properties 
in Trinidad as well as the most important group of companies, other than 
Nobels and the Dutch-Shell, in Russia. 

United States interests, including the Standard Oil Co., the Doherty 
interests, the Texas Co., the Gulf Corporation, and the Island Oil 
Transport Corporation, are predominant in the quest for petroleum in 
Colombia. The Venezuelan Oil Concessions, Ltd., an English company 
operating in Venezuela, is reported to have obtained a concession to 
explore for oil in the northwest district of British Guiana. 

The Sinclair interests (United States) are particularly active in the 
search for petroleum in Costa Rica and Panama; and the Sun Co. (United 
States) is understood to be investigating petroleum possibilities in other 
Central American republics. 

The Pearson interests (British) have expended considerable effort 
in the quest of petroleum in Algeria and Morocco, and in the former coun- 
try American interests (E. E. Smith) are reported to have recently 
sought petroleum concessions from the French government. 

British interests, including the British government, control extensive 
petroleum concessions in Persia, from which oil in unreported quantities 
is now being produced. 

The most promising oil territory of Persia has recently been closed to 
American activity through the granting of a concession aggregating 
approximately 500,000 square miles to a British concern, the Anglo- 
Persian Oil Co., a majority of whose voting stock is owned by the British 
government. This concession runs until 1961. The importance of the 
oil territory is indicated by its reported potential capacity of 30,000,000 
barrels yearly, with tremendous reserves undeveloped. 

United States interests (Standard Oil Co. of New York) are under- 
stood to still retain control over the petroleum rights in certain provinces 
in China, where active prospecting in two or three localities a few years 
ago was reported to have yielded unfavorable results. 

Petroleum in small quantities is produced in New Zealand by purely 
British interests. 

POSITION OF THE LEADING POWERS 

United States. — As regards probable developments in the petroleum 
industry within the next decade, the United States, thanks to the enter- 
prise and foresightedness of financial interests of domestic origin, seems 



18 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

to have a strong position. United States interests are practically supreme 
in the commercial control of the petroleum resources of the Western 
Hemisphere, dominating the petroleum industry in the United States, 
Canada, Mexico, and Peru, holding substantial interests in Trinidad 
and Venezuela and in the prospective petroliferous areas in Central 
America and Colombia. Its only competitors are British and British- 
Dutch interests, which control the petroleum situation in Trinidad and 
are not only strongly intrenched in the United States, Mexico, and Vene- 
zuela, but are aggressively seeking to enlarge their holdings in those 
countries and to gain footholds elsewhere. Unless the United States 
adopts measures, such as Federal operation of the trunk pipe-lines, to 
limit the aggressions of foreign capital in this country, and erects 
a firm forward-looking governmental policy toward the protection of 
investments of its citizens in petroleum properties in other countries, 
particularly Latin-American countries, it may witness its commercial 
supremacy in petroleum affairs wane and disappear, while it is yet the 
largest political contributor to the world's supply of petroleum. 

As contrasted with the strongly nationalistic and deliberately aggres- 
sive governmental policy adopted by Great Britain, France, Holland and 
some other nations, the United States has never adopted any policy 
founded on recognition of the importance of political and commercial 
control of petroleum. American companies may not own and operate 
oil lands in the British Empire, in the French possessions, or the Dutch 
colonies, but the only American restrictions on foreign activity in the 
petroleum industry are those which cover all minerals contained in public 
lands. Only American citizens, or those who have declared their inten- 
tion of becoming American citizens, can apply for patents to such land. 
However, after the application is made, there is no restriction on transfer 
of the mineral rights thus secured. 

Great Britain. — British and British-Dutch interests easily dominate 
the petroleum situation in the Eastern Hemisphere by supremacy 
in the petroleum industries of Russia, Persia, India, and the Netherlands 
East Indies. Domination of the petroleum situation in Russia alone is 
believed tantamount to dominion of the petroleum situation in the entire 
Eastern Hemisphere for the greater part of the next century. The 
strength of Great Britain's present position in the world's petroleum af- 
fairs lies in a strong governmental policy and in the wide scope of British 
petroleum investments, embracing practically every country where petro- 
leum is an important product and nearly every country where it is a 
product of potential importance. The general policy of the British 
Empire seems to be to control all oil development and restrict operations 
by foreign capital. In Australia licenses are required for the exploitation 
of oil lands, and only companies incorporated in the United Kingdom or 
a British possession may receive such licenses. The Governor General 



PETROLEUM 19 

has the right of pre-emption of all oil produced and in case of war may- 
take control of all oil properties. In Canada, in those western provinces 
where minerals are the property of the Crown, petroleum and natural 
gas lands may be leased only to British companies. A similar restriction 
exists in Burma. In Burma a monopoly of the petroleum industry 
for 99 years was granted to the Burma Oil Co. in 1865. This grant 
seems to have been inspired by fear of the Standard Oil Co. of the 
United States, for the agreement between the company and the govern- 
ment stipulates that the former shall not amalgamate with other oil 
companies. Regulations of like effect exist in other British colonies 
where oil exists; in Barbados the British government has the right of 
pre-emption of all oil residues; in British Guiana, non-British companies 
can only hold lands by special license of the Governor; in British Hon- 
duras all mineral oil is reserved to the Crown; in southern Nigeria, the 
Gold Coast, Trinidad, and Tobago the British government has the right 
of pre-emption over all petroleum. 

The recent granting of a concession amounting to a monopoly in the 
most promising oil district of Persia (a region that many oil experts believe 
likely to become one of the most important in the world) to a British 
company controlled directly (by stock ownership) by the British govern- 
ment, signifies an aggressive policy of England, outside of her own domin- 
ions, to secure and hold, under government control, oil lands in all parts 
of the globe. 

It is understood that the best-known oil territories in Venezuela are 
already covered by concessions that are practically all controlled either 
directly or indirectly by British interests, chiefly the Dutch-Shell 
Syndicate. 

So far as observed, German interests actually dominate the petroleum 
industry in Galicia and at home. Whether forced back on its own pe- 
troleum resources or on these reinforced by those of Galicia, Germany will 
obviously have an inadequate supply, and in consequence German 
interests are likely to be particularly aggressive in seeking petroleum 
in Mesopotamia, Africa and South America. 

France. — Since control of the petroleum interests of the Rothschilds 
passed into the hands of the Royal Dutch-Shell Syndicate (British- 
Dutch), the influence of French finances in petroleum affairs has been 
negligible, outside Galicia and Italy, where its potency was not great. 
French capital will undoubtedly participate in efforts to determine the 
petroleum reserve of the Barbary States, French dependencies, but it will 
hardly be much involved in organized efforts to control the world situa- 
tion with respect to petroleum. 

The French mining law holds that oil and gas belong to the state, 
and may be exploited under concessions, the area and time limit of which 
are matters of negotiations between the applicant and the authorities. 



20 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

It is understood that the French government is unwilling to grant oil 
concessions except to companies the majority of whose stock is held 
by French citizens. A company incorporated recently to work the 
Algerian oil fields contains in its articles of incorporation the provision 
that 60 per cent, of its stock must be held by French citizens. 

Japan. — Japanese investments in the world's petroleum industry 
have not yet attained significant proportions outside Japan itself, though 
the Japanese government is officially alive to the importance of Japa- 
nese investments in petroleum properties in Mexico, particularly Lower 
California and Sonora; China; and undoubtedly Russia. Hence large 
investments of Japanese capital in the petroleum industry in one or all 
of those countries may be expected in the near future. 

SUMMARY 

Petroleum in its crude or semi-refined state is used as fuel under 
locomotive and marine boilers and as a lubricant. The principal 
use of petroleum, however, is in the manufacture of numerous refined 
products. Some of the more important products and their uses are as 
follows: ether, as an anaesthetic in surgery; gasoline, as fuel in inter- 
nal-combustion engines ; naphthas, as solvents and in the manufacture of 
commercial gasoline; kerosene, as an illuminant and as a fuel for farm 
tractors; lubricating oils; waxes, as preservatives, illuminants, and surg- 
ical dressings in treatment of burns; petroleum coke, in metallurgical 
processes and in the manufacture of battery carbons and arc-light pen- 
cils; heavy fuel oils; road oils; artificial asphalts, for pavements. The 
use of petroleum and its products as fuel, as a lubricant, and for illumina- 
tion may be considered essential. Substitutes for most of these uses are 
known, but they are either inefficient or not readily available. 

The most prolific sources of petroleum are in sedimentary strata of 
the Carboniferous and Tertiary periods. Because the most detailed 
geologic work is insufficient to provide for the appropriate evaluation of 
the numerous factors involved in the occurrence of petroleum, and be- 
cause only a relatively small percentage of the areas of sedimentary rocks 
throughout the world have been examined geologically in any appreciable 
detail, it is difficult to estimate the future supply of petroleum or to 
predict that large accumulations will be discovered in any particular 
region. 

The principal countries contributing to the world's production of 
petroleum rank as follows in general order of importance : United States, 
Russia, Mexico, Dutch East Indies, Roumania, India, Persia and Galicia. 
Other countries produce less than 2 per cent, of the annual total. The 
greatest change that is likely to come in the geographical distribution of 
production is a larger output from the countries bordering the Caribbean 



PETROLEUM 21 

Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Persian and Mesopotamian 
fields. Mexico now ranks second to the United States, and South 
American countries promise to become more important contributors to 
the world's production than they now are. Russia is expected to become 
ultimately one of the chief producers of petroleum. 

Within the next decade, through improved methods of production 
and through the further amalgamation of producing, transporting, refin- 
ing, and marketing companies into strong units, the output will undoubt- 
edly be larger and will be more economically produced. In the refining 
of petroleum it is probable that improved methods will make possible the 
recovery of a larger percentage of lighter products from low-grade pe- 
troleum. Internal-combustion engines are being modified so as to run 
on petroleum products of lower volatility than gasoline. The use of 
petroleum as fuel under railroad and marine boilers is expected to increase 
enormously in the next decade. As the output of the producing fields 
declines, the vast deposits of oil shale in the western United States will 
be developed as a source of oil. 

So far as is known, political control of the petroleum resources of the 
world is determined by state sovereignty (see Plate I, page 7). In 
normal times, the United States controls politically over 66 per cent, of 
the present output of petroleum. Russia and Mexico ranked second and 
third in 1917, controlling 13.6 per cent, and 10.9 per cent., respectively. 
The remaining 9 per cent, was controlled by Great Britain, Holland, 
Persia (British government owned), Roumania, Austria-Hungary, Japan, 
Peru, Germany, Argentina and Italy in the order named. 

The table showing the nationality and the approximate extent of the 
commercial control exercised by the dominant interests in each of the 
principal oil-producing countries, and Fig. 2 (page 12) are the best 
possible summaries of commercial control. United States capital is 
supreme in the commercial control of the petroleum industry of the 
Western Hemisphere. British and British-Dutch interests easily domi- 
nate the petroleum situation in the Eastern Hemisphere. France no 
longer exercises control over any important fields. Japanese interests, 
controlling at present all the oil fields of Japan, may be expected to make 
large investments in the petroleum fields of Mexico, China and Russia. 



CHAPTER II 
COAL 

By George S. Rice and Frank F. Grout 
USES OF COAL 

Coal is among the most important of all minerals. It furnishes power 
and heat, and its distillation yields a great number of useful materials, 
such as gas for lighting and fuel, explosives, ammonia, aniline dyes, 
etc. Coke, which is bituminous coal with the more volatile constituents 
removed by distillation, is used for smelting metallic ores; and thus the 
contiguity of fields of high-grade coking coal and of iron ore determined 
the location of the centers of steel industry, which are the very main- 
springs of our modern machine-made civilization. Near such coal dis- 
tricts, other manufactures of all kinds naturally developed, the coal being 
cheaply available for power and constituting practically the only source 
of power in regions where cheap hydro-electric power is not available. 
About 66 per cent, of the coal mined goes to the production of power, 
including transportation; about 12 per cent, to coking and the by-prod- 
ucts; and about 22 per cent, to the heating of buildings. 

Commercial coal is of three varieties: (1) anthracite (Pennsylvania 
anthracite is popularly termed hard coal) , and semi-anthracite containing 
a high percentage of fixed carbon and a relatively low percentage of the 
volatile constituents (3 to 12 per cent.); (2) bituminous (ambiguously 
termed "soft coal" in the United States), containing less fixed carbon and 
more volatile matter (12 to 40 per cent.); and (3) lignite, containing a 
still smaller proportion of fixed carbon and a large proportion of water. 
Of the bituminous coals, some coke satisfactorily, but many do not, so 
that good coking coals are highly prized. Anthracite, because it makes 
no smoke, is in great demand for house heating; whereas bituminous coal 
is chiefly used for power production, including locomotive and steamship 
firing. Lignites as a rule are used only where the better grades of coal 
are not available. 

Coal was first used for heating before steam power came into use, 
and iron was smelted with charcoal instead of with coke as at present. 

Ship bunkering calls for the best grades of bituminous coal, low in ash 
and preferably high in fixed carbon, because the use of low-grade coals 
would require carrying larger amounts, leaving less space for cargo. 
However, no country that has enough coal to bunker ships, need be de- 

22 



COAL 23 

pendent on foreign supplies; tne low grade of coal would simply reduce 
efficiency and thus increase expense. 

Substitutes. — -The proportion of coal used for power, as distinct from 
that used for heat and coal products, is increasing, and is now two-thirds 
of the total. As a source of power there is really no complete substitute 
for coal. All the great industrial nations, like England, Germany and the 
United States, have developed their industries on the basis of large coal 
supplies. Some countries make large use of hydro-electric power, but 
for most it is an insufficient substitute. Wood .and other fuels are 
rarely sufficient to maintain an industry built up on a supply of coal. 
Oil is being successfully substituted in some industries, notably in ship- 
ping, but the importance of coaling stations will no doubt persist. 

CHANGES IN PRACTICE 

The technique of coal mining in many districts, and the development 
of heat, power and coal products are not far advanced. Wasteful meth- 
ods are used, mostly as a result of competition and lack of co-operation 
and organization among producers. Economies are being advocated, 
however. Labor-saving machinery has been installed in many mines. 
A number of power plants have been erected near the mine mouth and 
the power distributed electrically, thus eliminating freight charges on 
coal. Central heating and power plants that can burn coal efficiently 
will no doubt be more popular and numerous in a few years. Govern- 
ment control and legislation may be expected to hasten the changes. In 
Europe the technique of coal mining, except in undercutting machinery, 
is further advanced than in the United States, as regards mining all the 
coal and in supporting the surface. 

Improvements in coking ovens may soon make possible the manu- 
facture of some sort of coke from almost any bituminous coal. While all 
coke may not be satisfactory for modern blast-furnace practice, any 
future lack of coke will probably be offset by the development of electric 
smelting, so the seriousness of the metallurgical need is doubtful. The 
proportion . of by-product coke ovens, which make for cheaper coke by 
providing for other marketable products, is increasing. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

Coals are found in the sedimentary deposits of several geological 
eras: Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Tertiary. The Paleozoic era, embracing 
the Carboniferous period, is by far the most important as regards quality 
and availability of its coal resources; but the lower-grade and chiefly 
lignitic coals of the Mesozoic and Tertiary are of great importance locally, 
and there are enormous reserves that exceed in quantity the generally 
higher-grade coals of the earlier periods. 

The geologic distribution of coal is described in "The Coal Resources 



24 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

of the World," the most important and comprehensive compilation on 
coal reserves ever made, which was undertaken by the Executive 
Committee of the Twelfth International Geologic Congress, held in 
Canada in 1913. As the compilation was made with the assistance 
of geological surveys and mining geologists of the several countries of 
the world, it is cited in this paper as authoritative on geologic distri- 
bution and resources. 

The geographic distribution of the chief coal fields of the world is 
shown in Plate II. 

In North America the most important coals in the Central and Eastern 
part are of Paleozoic age, but in the Rocky Mountain region vast quan- 
tities of coal occur in the Cretaceous (Mesozoic) strata. In the Gulf 
province and in the Northern Great Plains province of the United States, 
which extends into Canada, are coals of Triassic (Mesozoic) age that are 
relatively unimportant at present. 

In beds of the Eocene period of the Tertiary era are large deposits 
of brown lignite locally converted by mountain-building forces into 
bituminous and semi-bituminous coal, and also a little anthracite under 
difficult mining conditions. Such locally altered beds are found in the 
State of Washington, in British Columbia, and in Alaska. 

The limited coal resources of South America, in those deposits east of 
the Andes and in southern and eastern Brazil, are of Paleozoic age. Small 
areas of Tertiary coals are found in southern Argentina and in Chile. 

In Europe the principal coal deposits occur in the Carboniferous sys- 
tem, either in the upper or the lower part. The Lower Carboniferous 

Key to Plate II. 

World's Coal Reserves as of 1916 — Coal Fields in Solid Black. 

1. Countries possessing coal reserves of the first magnitude (4,000,000 million to 
1,000,000 million tons) : The United States (3,527,000 million), Canada (1,234,000 
million), and China (1,500,000 million). 

2. Countries possessing coal reserves of the second degree of magnitude (500,000 
million to 100,000 million) : The British Isles (189,533 million), Germany (before the 
war) (423,356 million), Siberia (173,879 million), and Australia (165,572 million). 

3. Countries possessing coal reserves of the third degree of magnitude (80,000 
million to 16,000 million tons): France (before the war) (17,583 million), Alaska 
(16,293 million), Colombia (27,000 million), Austria-Hungary (before the war) 
(55,553 million), Russia in Europe (before the war) (60,106 million), India (79,001 
million), Indo-China (20,000 million) and South Africa (56,200 million). 

4. Countries possessing coal reserves of the fourth degree of magnitude (16,- 
000 million to 6,000 million tons): Spain (8,768 million), Japan (7,970 million), 
Belgium (11,000 million), Spitzbergen (8,750 million). 

5. Countries possessing coal reserves, but of inferior magnitude (less than 4,000 
million tons): Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Greenland, 
Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Roumania, Asia Minor, 
Persia, Arabia, various islands of Malaysia and various countries in Africa. Coal 
fields shown in black— country not shaded. 



COAL 



25 




26 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



is the principal series in which coals occur in Scotland, whereas the most 
important coals in England and in Wales lie in Upper Carboniferous 
rocks. In northern France, in Belgium, and in Westphalia, Germany, 
the middle Carboniferous measures contain the most important reserves. 



























\ 






i 




























\ 




s 


«.-" 


--" 






















-<£ 


V 


jr 


' I'd 


C N 


\ 






















\ 


v_ 


X 


" If 




\ 


\ 






















\ 


Ia 


-i¥ 




, 


\ 
























!v 


- sf 






\ 






















-4 










\ 


























/ 






















t- *-ll 


1 1 








7 ^ 






















<- ul 


111 








°-*l 


r's^ 


















c 


^ \v 


' !?r 






























f^N 4 X 


- .3 i 






























-U I 


§ 1 






























\ 3 


h - 15- 
































sl* 






























V 


L ^K 






























X 


> "S 1 
































^ 1 
































t -II 
































-t§8 
































-4-S1 
























4s 


\ 






4 s ! 
























C 


\ 






- -J 


























') 






ij 
































| 


























\ 






iir 

6 °"l I 
^\ «£> 1 


























\ 


\ 


g|^ 




























\ 


oa\ 




























\ 


3sP 




























\ 


r |\ 


W -! 
































4- - 
































.1.-1 
































•4— 






























X i 


-J-U- 






























\ i 


i. 






























s "i 


. i.j 



o o o 
o o p 

Ji v£> m 



916 
916 

trie 

£16 

ZI6 
116 
016 
606 
906 
L06 
906 
506 
tO 6 

eo6 

106 
006 
668 
968 
169 
968 
S69 
?68 
£68 
268 
168 
068 
S8S 
988 
188 
988 
589 
1/88 
£88 
289 
I89 
083* 



suox>o uoiwn 



Mesozoic coals are found in northern Australia and in central France. 
The lignites or brown coals of middle Europe are locally very important 
in Germany; those of Austria are found in numerous small but thick 
deposits of the Tertiary age. 

The principal coal resources of Africa are in the southern part of the 
continent and are chiefly in deposits whose ages range from Carboniferous 
to Triassic. 



COAL 



27 



In Asia the coal fields are not well defined. There are coal basins 
of note in India and China. In China important coals are found in the 
Upper Carboniferous. Coals of the Lower Carboniferous are found east 
of the Urals and also in Turkestan. In Japan the Mesozoic coals are 
important. Tertiary coals are widely distributed in Asia but are not 
high-grade nor of importance. 

It may be safely stated that geological reconnoissance has covered the 
world so well that further development is not likely to disclose coal re- 
sources of great magnitude not now known with more or less exactitude. 
Estimates of resources of some regions will undoubtedly be revised many 
times, especially those of reserves in the middle portion of Africa, in 
South America, and China. 

COAL PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD IN 1913 

As the great World War began on July 31, 1914, the last normal pro- 
duction figures were for 1913. The following table of the world's pro- 
duction of coal for the years 1911-1914 is from " Mineral Resources' 7 
of the U. S. Geological Survey, the compilation being credited by Mr. 
Lesher, of the Survey, to Mr. Wm. G. Gray, statistician of the American 
Iron and Steel Institute, and Prof. G. A. Roush, editor of " Mineral 
Industry." 

The output (1880-1916) of the chief coal-producing countries of the 
world is shown graphically in Figure 3. 



Table 4 — 


The World's Production op Coal (in Short Tons) 


Country 1911 


1912 


1913 


1914 


United States 

Great Britain 

Germany 


496,371,126 

304,518,927 

259,223,763 

54,960,298 

43,242,778 

29,361,764 

25,411,917 

19,436,536 

13,494,573 

16,534,500 

11,323,388 

9,374,596 

4,343,680 

4,316,245 

2,679,551 

2,315,390 

1,628,097 

1,277,191 

998,556 


534,466,580 

291,666,299 

281,979,467 

56,954,579 

45,534,448 

33,775,754 

25,322,851 

21,648,902 

16,471,100 

16,534,500 

14,512,829 

10,897,134 

8,119,288 2 

4,559,453 

See note 2 

2,438,929 

1,901,902 

1,470,917 

1,010,426 


569,960,219 

321,922,130 

305,714,664 

59,647,957 

45,108,544 

35,500,674 

25,196,869 

23,988,292 

18,163,856 

15,432,200! 

15,115,089 

11,663,865 

5,225,036 

4,731,647 

2,898,726 

2,115,834 

2,064,608 

1,362,334 

1,162,497 


513,525,477 
297,698,617 
270,594,952 


Austria- Hungary . . . 
France 


Russia 




Belgium 




Japan 


21,700,572 


India 




China. 

Canada 


13,597,982 


New South Wales . . 
Transvaal 


11,644,476 


Spain 




Natal 




New Zealand 

Holland 




Chile 




Queensland 


1,180,825 



1 Estimated. 
2 Transvaal included Natal and Cape of Good Hope. 



28 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 
Table 4. — Continued 



Country 



1911 



1912 



1913 



1914 



Mexico 

Bosnia and Herze- 



govina 

Turkey 

Italy 

Victoria 

Orange Free State 

(Orange River 

Colony) 

Dutch East Indies . 

Indo-China 

Serbia 

Sweden 

Western Australia. . 

Peru 

Formosa 

Bulgaria 

Rhodesia 

Roumania 

Cape Colony (Cape 

of Good Hope) . . . 

Korea 

Tasmania 

British Borneo 

Spitzbergen 

Brazil 

Portugal 

Venezuela 

Switzerland 

Philippine Islands . . 
Unspecified 



1,400,000! 

848,510 
799,168 
614,132 
732,328 



482,690 

600, 000 1 

460, 000 1 

335,495 

343,707 

300,000! 

300,000! 

280,999 

270,410 

212,529 

266,784 

89,023 
138,508 
70,000! 
100,000! 
44,092 
16,535 
10,000! 
10,000! 
8,267 
2,000! 
1,016,947! 



982,396 

940,174 
909,293 
731,720 
664,334 



622,669 
471,259 
335,000 
397,149 
330,488 
307,461 
306,941 
324,511 
216,140 



See note 2 
59,987 



16,938 
12,000! 

2,998 



927,244 

772,802 
668,524 



609,973 
453,136 



401,199 
351,687 
301,970 



237,728 



67,481 

61,648 
49,762 



27,653 
13,355 



68,130 



Total 1,309,565,0003 



1,377,000,000 3 



1,478,000,000 3 



1,346,000,000 



1 Estimated. 
3 Approximate. 



Table 5. — Reserves 



Total coal reserves in millions of metric tons have been estimated, 
by continents, as follows: 

Continent Millions of tons 

North America 5,073,000 

Asia 1,280,000 

Europe 784,000 

Australia and Oceania 170,000 

Africa 58,000 

South America 32,000 



COAL 



29 



The countries on pre-war basis having the greatest reserves are as 
follows : 

Country Millions of tons 

United States (half lignite) 3,527,000 . 

Canada (three-fourths lignite) 1,234,000 

China 996,000 to 1,500,000 

British Isles 190,000 

Siberia (largely lignite) 173,000 

Germany (including Upper Silesia and the Saar) . . . 423,000 

New South Wales 118,000 

India 79,000 

Russia including Dombrova field (Poland) 60,000 

Austria (chiefly in Bohemia, Silesia and Galicia) 54,000 

France 17,600 



PRODUCT! OM FOR 1913 SHORT TONS (2000 POUNDS) 
Zp 60 100 140 180 tlO Z60 300 34,0 380 4^0 460 50,0 



UNITED STATES 

6REAT BRITAIN (292 * 

GERMANY . ,--■,-.. 1*78 

AUSTRIA -HUNGARY (54 

FRANC E (41 

TtJSSLA (32 

BeToiUM (23 



.(517 Million Metric Tons)- 



570,000,000 

» ) 322,000,000 

» ) 306,000,000 

» JL 60,000,000 

» ) 45,000,000 

» ) 35,500,000 

n ) 25,200,000 



TOTAL COAL RESOURCES NY MILLIONS OF METRIC TOLLS 



UNITED STATES 

3, 838, OOO Million Tons Metric 



—--><- 



<- Class B&C- 

Bituminous a Semi-Bituminous 
1,955,000 



'- Class D > 

5ubbitum'mous a Liqnites 
1, 863, OOO 



D HUN6ARY(Former) I, 700 .• 
POLISH (Former Russian) 
u DOMBROVA FIELD 2,500 
Q3EL6IUM 11,000 

^FRANCE 17,600 



□ 



AUSTRIA (Former) 
54,000 



□ RUSSIA IN EUROPE 
EXCEPT DOMBROVA 
57,500 



GREAT BRITAIN 
190,000 



UPPER 
SILESIA 
166,000 



r—ySAAR 
4 16,600 



GERMAN 
(Former 
Empire) 
423, OOO 



Fig. 4. — Coal reserves of chief producing countries, according to "Coal Resources of 
the World," in millions of metric tons. Squares are to scale: lines showing relative pro- 
duction are not on same scale as squares. 



The reserves of the principal productive coal fields are graphically 
shown in Figure 4. 

The distribution of the coal deposits of the world and the estimated 
reserves in these deposits are shown in Plate II. 



30 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

GENERAL WORLD SITUATION 

The districts with coal for export have been chiefly the British Isles, 
United States and Germany; there might be included also New South 
Wales, British South Africa, Japan, French Indo-China, Canada, New 
Zealand and Spitzbergen. China, with her large reserves, may become 
an exporter in the future; or, if her industries develop, may find use for 
her coal at home. 

Anthracite of good grade is found in large amounts in Pennsylvania 
and South Wales only. Poorer supplies are known in Germany, France, 
Italy, Indo-China, and also in the states of Colorado and New Mexico. 

Coking coals in large amounts are found in the eastern United States, 
Germany and the United Kingdom and are coked extensively. Smaller 
amounts of coke are made in France, Belgium and old Austria. Rela- 
tively very small amounts are made in Canada, Chile, New South Wales, 
Japan and Spain. 

The coal reserve of a country bears no direct relation to its present 
production, for the latter, which has to be developed in competition with 
other countries, depends upon relative facility of transportation and 
proximity of iron-ore deposits, which render steel making and other 
industries economically feasible. 

Great Britain is particularly favored through the possession of high- 
grade coal immediately adjacent to coast ports, as in the North of Eng- 
land, Scotland and Wales. Hence Great Britain became a great exporter 
of coal. First, coal for heating purposes traveled by sea from New- 
castle to London; next coal was carried to European ports, and finally 
to all parts of the world. The possession of easily worked iron deposits 
in the north of England and the discovery that iron could be smelted 
with coke rapidly accelerated the development of the coal industry in 
Great Britain, so that by the middle of the nineteenth century Great 
Britain had a commanding lead. 

No other country possesses high-grade coal in such quantity immedi- 
ately adjacent to the coast, and this fact has enabled Great Britain to 
remain the great exporter. The average length of haul of export coal, 
from mine to ship, is less than 20 miles. In Germany coal for ocean 
export must be hauled 118 miles to 168 miles; in the United States from 
150 to 375 miles, except for Washington coals, which are within 40 miles 
of tidewater, but are small in quantity and of indifferent quality. 

After the war with France in 1871, when Germany annexed Alsace 
and Lorraine, the coal industry of the German Empire developed with 
tremendous rapidity, largely through the discovery — from the investiga- 
tions of Thomas, of Great Britain — of a method of utilizing the high- 
phosphorus iron ores of German and French Lorraine, and the nearness 
of these iron-ore deposits to the high-grade bituminous coals of West- 



COAL 31 

phalia. The coal industry was also developed bv fostering the export 
trade with adjacent countries, which have small coal resources or none, 
this trade nearly all going by rail. 

However, the long rail haul and the correspondingly high cost of 
mining have retarded the ocean export business of Germany, in spite of 
the fostering care of the government. With the transfer of practically all 
its iron deposits and its important Lorraine potash deposits, as well as 
the ownership of its Saar coal mines, to France, and the possible loss of 
its Upper Silesian coal and zinc deposits to Poland, the balance of com- 
mercial prosperity, as well, may be handed over. 

No other countries except the United States, Canada, Australia and 
China have reserves for extensive export trade. In Canada the coals are 
mostly inland, and those near the coast, as on Vancouver Island and in 
Nova Scotia, are limited in quantity and difficult to mine, so that export 
business is perforce restricted. 

One change that seems likely is a rapid increase in output of coal 
in China. The resources are enormous, the reserves of the higher 
classes of coal being surpassed by those of no country but the United 
States. The ambitious and aggressive Japanese, with their strategic 
neighboring location, have given every indication that they will take 
advantage of an opportunity to develop such a resource. It may be a 
question how soon Chinese coal will be developed, but great changes are 
inevitable when development begins. Some of the coal fields are so near 
the coast and have coals of such good quality as to permit an extensive 
development of export business in the Orient. 

Australia, particularly in Queensland and New South Wales, has 
coal resources that are considerable, in comparison with the needs of the 
small population. In New South Wales the coals are excellent and are 
adjacent or close to harbors, so that the coal is extensively supplied 
for bunkerage and export trade to the South Pacific and has become a 
large factor in the ocean trade of that part of the world. 

A large factor in the coal trade of the Pacific Ocean is the carry- 
ing of coal as return cargo. This is also important in South American 
trade. South Africa during the war sent considerable coal to the western 
Mediterranean, but its coal cannot be a large factor in ocean trade in 
normal times. 

Of all the continents South America is the poorest in coal resources. 
There is coal in Brazil and Chile and other South American countries, 
but it is difficult to reach and the fields so far known do not give promise 
of being able to take care of the needs of the countries in which they occur. 
The total annual production of South America is less than two million 
tons, mostly from Chile. It is probable that for the next generation 
South America will continue to import coal as it has in the past, to the 
extent of 15 million tons or more per annum, although developments in 



32 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Brazil are now promising for that country's future supply. For estimates 
of reserves, see Table 5. 

Summary. — By way of summary, it may be said that the United 
States leads the world in coal resources; moveover, its resources are 
most immediately available, because of their shallow depth and general 
undisturbed (geologic) condition and their accessibility through railway 
systems. This is particularly true in the Appalachian region, which con- 
tains by far the best coal, is the nearest to the coast, and hence is the most 
available for ocean trade. On the other hand, the average haul to export 
points, as already noted, is far greater than that of Great Britain and 
greater than that of Westphalia ; but to offset this the coal has been and 
can be mined more cheaply than in either Westphalia or Great Britain. 
The resources of Upper Silesia are large, and the coal is easily mined, but 
the output will all be needed for central Europe As regards both 
quality and quantity, Pennsylvania anthracite is unique; nevertheless, 
the home needs will continue to be a brake on extensive exports. 
United States steam and coking coals available for shipment average a 
little poorer than the corresponding coals of Great Britain, but are 
superior to the German coals. 

The total resources of Great Britain, possible, actual, and probable, 
are only 190,000 million tons, as contrasted with 423,000 million tons in 
the old German Empire and 3,838,000 million tons in the United States. 

Probable Future Production. — The possible depletion of coal resources 
is of course important in considering the future, but it can be safely 
stated that in none of the principal fields now being mined are the re- 
sources so depleted that the output therefrom will be reduced for another 
generation at least. 

Of the great coal-producing countries, Great Britain, with its increas- 
ing rate of production, most nearly approaches the point of ultimate de- 
pletion, but that point has been variously placed at one hundred to several 
hundred years in the future, much depending upon whether with better 
methods of use the output will continue to increase at the same rate as 
in the past. Meantime, certain areas in Great Britain with shallower 
coal beds will be depleted much sooner and the remaining coal will 
become more and more difficult to get, because of the increasing depth of 
mining, which in turn will cause a continually increasing cost. 

Although the exhaustion of coal is a distant prospect, there are clear 
signs of the approaching exhaustion of certain grades of coal. It has 
been estimated that the output of American anthracite will seriously 
decline in 60 to 100 years. Probably this will result in a change in prac- 
tice, the use of coke, and other methods of house heating. If the rate of 
production continues to increase, high-grade American steam coal, New 
River and similar grades, will probably be exhausted in a little over 150 
years. American coking coal of the best Connellsville quality is of 



COAL 33 

equally short duration. British coal of similar high grade may last 
longer than American, as the production rate is less rapid, even though 
the total American coal should last much longer than the British. 

POLITICAL CONTROL 

In several countries state ownership of coal mines is established; as, 
for example, in parts of Prussia, Australia, Chile and Bulgaria. In 
others the undeveloped coal lands are still largely owned by the govern- 
ment, as in Alaska and the western United States. In some countries 
the government retains control of all mineral rights, simply leasing the 
property and granting a mining concession. Many governments have 
a department or administration of mines. In every country, of course, in 
an emergency, the sovereign state would exercise control of coal resources 
as fully as was necessary. Where the state owns mines, and favors 
organization, as in Germany, the more drastic regulation of war time 
is easily effected. It is quite possible that coal may in time be generally 
considered a public utility. 

In England a movement toward nationalization of mines, with miners 
as well as the government having a hand in the control, seems to be mak- 
ing progress. 

England's colonies excel all others in extent of coal resources. There 
is coal in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Rhodesia, 
Newfoundland, South Nigeria and British North Borneo — the total being 
many times greater than that in the British Isles. The colonies and pos- 
sessions of France, Denmark, Portugal, United States and Japan have 
relatively small amounts of coal. 

Coal resources, along with other raw materials, have been influenced 
by some trade treaties. However, no permanent advantage in commerce 
has been secured to any nation by a trade treaty. Nearly all such treaties 
are made for short periods and renewed. If not satisfactory to one party 
they are soon corrected. Various informal or tacit agreements might 
be mentioned. When shipping was scarce during the war, England and 
the United States divided the coal business of South America according 
to the requirements of ship economy. Germany made agreements to 
send coal to Austria-Hungary and Switzerland during the period of 
the war. England had agreements with France, Spain, Portugal and 
Italy, these agreements changing with conditions, about supplies of 
English coal. 

COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

Although the ownership of mines in most countries is nominally open 
to citizens and aliens alike, exceptions and restrictions tend to keep the 
control in the hands of citizens. For example, it is impossible for for- 



34 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

eigners to control any mining company in Japan. Concessions in 
Holland and the Dutch colonies are limited to Dutch subjects and in 
Bolivia to Bolivian citizens. The legislation suggested since the out- 
break of the World War may develop a similar condition in the possessions 
of Great Britain and those of her allies. 

In peace the relations of two countries may be largely determined by 
the ownership of property ; owners of property in a foreign country may 
strongly influence the policy of the two governments toward each other. 
In emergencies, the political and the commercial control are put to the 
test, and there results either a deadlock or the victory of one over the 
other. 

An important commercial relation exercising political influence is 
the incorporation of companies under the laws of different countries. 
Mining companies in China, like the Kailan Mining Administration, 
organize at Hong Kong to obtain British protection and are thus subject 
to British control, in spite of the fact that Belgian money finances the 
company. Some companies organized in Japan may also own Chinese 
coal mines. 

As relatively few regions of the world have coal in excess of their own 
needs, the larger number are dependent on imports. If a country with 
coal controls also steamship lines, it may completely control the coal 
situation in the importing country. England, with about half the total 
world's shipping and a good supply of seaport coal, has been in a position 
to dominate coal exports, even to handling the excess American coal. 
During the last three or four years the scarcity of shipping has given in- 
creased importance to American and Japanese shipping, but the English 
still exert a strong influence. Their docks and storage facilities are the 
best, and their ships are still numerous. 

Railroad shipping rights over the National Lines in Mexico give a 
certain amount of control over the coal industry. The National Lines 
are state owned and have a special agreement giving trackage rights 
to two companies, the American Smelting and Refining Co., and the 
Pefioles Company, of German ownership. Since the Mexican railway 
service has been disturbed, the German company has been operating 
with cars and engines of its own. It has many coke ovens and large coal 
reserves, and has been the chief competitor of the American company in 
Mexican metallurgy. 

No patent is likely to limit coal industries, except as regards the 
by-products of coke. Before the war, coal-tar products were largely 
developed by Germans, who patented their processes in many countries, 
but offered no such protection to foreign inventions by patents in Ger- 
many. They limited production chiefly to their German plants, and 
exported about $50,000,000 worth a year. 

During the war, these patents in the United States were taken over 



COAL 35 

by the Alien Property Custodian, and the American industries that 
sprung up in consequence may be permanently protected. Other allied 
countries took the same steps to free themselves from German control, 
which has retarded the development of the by-product coke industry 
in non-German countries. 

In Germany the large mining companies generally own the coal rights. 
The only government that has mined coal on a commercial scale and for 
commercial purposes is Germany, and even there the government produc- 
tion covered only a small part of the total output of the German Empire. 
Mines of the Saar coal field and a group of mines in the Upper Silesian 
field owned by the Prussian government have been the only extensive 
state-operated mines of the world, and now, under the terms of the 
Treaty of Peace, the ownership of the Saar mines will pass to France. 
(The details are given on p. 39). 

On the other hand, the government exercised a quiet but real control 
over the whole German coal industry. Through its ownership of the 
Koenigen Louise mines it acted as a member of the Upper Silesian coal 
syndicate. Formerly, through its ownership of the Saar mines, it was 
also a member of the Westphalian coal syndicate, but whether a member or 
'not it practically approved the syndicate operations and the fixing of 
prices in advance; also, it co-operated with the syndicate in hauling the 
latter's coal over state-owned railway systems. In certain undeveloped 
coal fields in Germany, the northern extension of the Westphalian field, 
the Prussian government retains most of the coal rights. 

The Rhenish Westphalian coal syndicate is a classic example of a 
great interlocking trade combination. Capitalized at $571,000, it covered 
an enormous capitalization of individual members. The mines have 
votes in proportion to production, which in turn is limited for certain 
periods. Prices are fixed and coal is marketed for the syndicate as a 
unit, but other affairs are left to the companies. The syndicate as a 
whole is a member of a transporting and exporting combine, and dis- 
poses of its product through a combine of coal dealers. The several 
minor combines interlock and are practically merged in a larger organi- 
zation, the Kohlen Kontor. Thus the combination had exceptional 
power to study the various problems of the industry, and became very 
powerful. It maintains a research department and an explosion testing 
gallery near Dorfmund. In several countries German companies through 
the control of advertising contracts have been able to influence the edi- 
torial policy of the leading newspapers, even during the war. Over 
half of the German coal mined before and during the war was syndicate 
coal. All of the 600 other German cartels have not been as moderate 
in their action and regulations as the coal syndicate. When the coal 
syndicate, however, at one time, found it could not supply its German 
market with coal, it is reported to have bought inferior British coal for 



36 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

its customers, so that they would not themselves get good British coal 
and refuse to return to the German supply. 

Efforts were made by the cartel to absorb and control foreign coal 
trade, where political and financial reasons served to render this advisa- 
ble, and therefore these efforts were out of all proportion to the intrinsic 
value of the trade. When it was planned to capture such a trade, 
the German-invented "dumping" system was used, coal being sold 
cheaper abroad than it could be sold or produced at home, the differ- 
ence being met by export bonuses. This German dumping became so 
serious in some countries, as Canada, New Zealand and South Africa, 
that special import duties were imposed to counteract it. When desir- 
able, the syndicate purchased collieries abroad, including even a South 
Yorkshire plant in England, the Heraclea collieries, in Turkey, and many 
mines in Australia. 

In Great Britain is a powerful coal combine, the Cambria, closely 
allied with great shipping concerns. An important trade asset in this 
organization, like that in the German cartel, is a banking connection by 
which the combine can offer long-term credit. 

Coal syndicates are mentioned in Belgium. Some sort of central 
organization interested in coal is known in Italy, Russia, Austria-Hun- 
gary, Sweden, Greece, Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador. 

THE SITUATION IN FRANCE, ENGLAND, AND THE UNITED STATES 

France has a modified form of ownership of coal resources: this was 
vested formerly in the Crown and now in the Republic. The government 
gives concessions for mining the mineral and charges a royalty. The 
mineral is not considered to be owned by the surface owner or by the 
original surface owner, as is the case in all other important countries. The 
concessions granted are liberal and for large areas. The royalty or 
rental is small and is now paid on the basis of so much per superficial 
unit of area (hectare) in the concession, but the chief returns received 
by the public are through a percentage of the net earnings, that is, earnings 
available for dividends. Under the conditions prevailing in France the 
system seems eminently fair, and the undertakings have been profitable 
both to the operators and to the country. The books of the company 
are open to inspection by government officials, and the annual reports 
are published in detail. The system virtually makes the government a 
partner in the business. 

In Great Britain most of the coal ownership is vested in entailed 
estates, and the royalties are a shilling a ton and upwards. 

Both private and government ownership exist in the United States. 
Throughout the greater part of the country the large operating companies 
own the coal rights, although in the anthracite district of Pennsylvania 



COAL 37 

the fortunate owners of the surface, or their assigns, receive large royal- 
ties, 25 to 50 cents a ton. In the Middle West most of the operators 
have bought the coal rights from the surface owners. When leased, 
the royalty is relatively small, 2 to 6J4 cents a ton. Operators in the 
Rocky Mountains generally own the coal they mine. The government 
has sold the coal rights, but the state school lands of Colorado and Wyom- 
ing have generally been leased at royalties of about 10 cents a ton. In 
Oklahoma the Five Civilized Tribes have until recently, under govern- 
ment control, leased their lands and coal rights at about 10 cents per 
ton, but these rights are now being sold. 

In the State of Washington a considerable amount of the bituminous 
coal district now opened is owned by the Northern Pacific Railway, 
which secured these lands as grants when the railroad was constructed. 
The royalty is about 15 to 25 cents a ton. 

In Alaska in the Matanuska and Bering River bituminous fields, and 
in the Nenana lignite field, the government has offered the coal for 
leasing purposes at 2 cents a ton for the first period, under restrictions 
providing for conservation of coal and reasonable prices to consumers. 
Some units have been taken up in the Matanuska and Bering River 
fields, but, as the measures are badly contorted and the coal beds difficult 
to trace, progress has been slow and production has scarcely begun. 
Temporarily, the Alaskan Railway Commission is working some mines at 
Chickaloon and Eska Creek, to obtain a supply of coal pending the develop- 
ment of other mines by lessees. Congress, in opening the coal lands in the 
Matanuska and Bering River fields for leasing, has reserved tracts of not 
exceeding 7,680 acres and 5,120 acres respectively for the use of the Navy. 

The United States still owns large areas of coal and lignite lands in 
the western states. Most of these lands are remote from railroads and 
difficult of access, but they contain enormous reserves. At present, 
outside of Alaska, only one mine, the Gebo mine, Gebo, Wyoming, is 
leased by the government, but extension of a leasing system similar to 
that of Alaska has been recently effected. 

In the United States the anthracite industry is well organized, and 
its railroad connections make it notably efficient and powerful. Bitumi- 
nous coal, on the other hand, is so widely distributed on both public and 
private lands that no private organization has attempted to control 
the industry. Such control has always been opposed by Congress and 
the general public. 

Except during the war, neither Great Britain nor the United States 
has attempted any control over commercial mining and the sale of coal. 
Each country created a fuel administration, and the coal was shipped 
under government instructions and paid for at prices fixed by the fuel 
administration. In the United States this government control has 
practically disappeared with the war, but in England the Coal Con- 



38 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

trol has so far been continued, and the tendency is for the government 
to retain for the present a strong guiding hand on the various "key" 
industries. Certainly, in the final analysis, coal mining is a public 
utility and should be supervised and adjusted by the . government 
accordingly, allowing free latitude for private initiative. 

Of the important coal-producing countries, only the German Empire, 
more or less openly, has fostered in peace times the coal industry and to 
some extent controlled it. In France there was only an indirect control, 
through the control by the government of the concessions and taxation 
of revenues and through tacit knowledge of the operations of the French 
coal syndicate, which ostensibly at least obtains and disseminates 
information and conducts mine safety investigations. In the United 
States, Great Britain, and other countries free competition has been 
permitted. Free competition does not seem serious in countries like 
France, where the supply of coal is limited, but it has had more or less 
serious financial effects where the supply of coal has been very large. 
In Germany before the formation of the syndicates the coal mining 
industry had periods of overproduction and serious financial depression; 
and at other, rarer, periods there was great prosperity. In Great Britain 
there have been similar times of depression and prosperity, but generally 
the business has been profitable. 

In the United States, except in the anthracite district, where for more 
than twenty years the operations have been in the hands of comparatively 
few companies, depression and prosperity have alternated rapidly. 
The statistics obtained by the census show that the average profits of 
the bituminous industry prior to 1917 were smaller than those of any 
other great industry, and this has had an unfortunate effect on the best 
development of the coal resources. The companies generally have had 
little or no surplus to develop properly in the lean years; hence they 
have mined only the best or thickest coal, and in short periods of great 
prosperity many mines not directly owned by the railroads and steel 
companies have been worked so as to lead to " squeezes" and great loss of 
coal. Moreover, these conditions have also been unfortunate for labor; 
in times of prosperity too many new mines were opened, because of the 
tremendous and easily accessible resources, and in times of depression 
the number of days the miners worked has been so reduced that their 
monthly or yearly earnings have been low enough to make their living a 
hard one. The average number of days worked per year from 1901 to 
1915 was 213. Some system of limited control of trade combinations 
by the government would appear to be highly advantageous for both 
the operators and the miners, and should insure a steady supply of coal 
to the consumers and steady prices with reasonable profits. 

As regards trade relations between the United States and other 
countries concerning fuel supplies, except for a possible agreement on 



COAL 39 

non-subsidy of the coal-carrymg shipping, any attempt at a general 
agreement on so vital a necessity as coal seems unwise, except for non- 
duplication of elaborate coal storage and rehandling plants in ports 
requiring small tonnages, and preventing ruinous competition by 
systematic "dumping" of surplus coal to drive a competitor out of 
business. 

Of all the continents, South America has the smallest coal resources. 
Although there is coal in Brazil and Chile and other South American 
countries, it is difficult to reach, and the fields so far known do not give 
promise of being able to take care of the needs of the countries in which 
they occur. 

The Coal Situation as Affected by the War. — Immediately after the 
opening of the war in Europe, July 31, 1914, the German military forces 
attacked and advanced in the east through Russian Poland, promptly 
securing the important Dombrova field, which is an extension of the 
Upper Silesian coal fields. The German forces also advanced in the west 
through the Belgian coal fields and thence through the extension of these 
fields in northern France, at the same time seizing the important Briey 
iron-ore deposits north of Verdun. 

The economic effect of these advances was of enormous importance 
in securing all the productive coal mines of Belgium, the most productive 
coal mines of Russia, and most of the coal fields of northern France. The 
French coal and iron mines seized produced one-half of the coal output of 
France (20 million tons out of 40 million tons), and 95 per cent. (20 
million tons) of the output of iron ore. Necessarily under these condi- 
tions France had to rely upon England and the United States to meet the 
military and economic need for iron, leaning chiefly upon Great Britain 
for the necessary supply of coal. Great Britain during the war continued 
to supply coal to Italy; also to Spain and other neutral nations. 

The armistice ended Germany's occupation of the coal fields of Bel- 
gium and northern France. On the other hand, the French took charge 
of the important Saar coal field, and the Allies occupied German terri- 
tory reaching to the Rhine and beyond the Rhine at certain bridgeheads, 
this occupation including the supervision of the mines in the coal and 
brown lignite basins near Aix-la-Chapelle and Cologne and the western 
margin of the Westphalian basin on the left bank of the Rhine. 

The treaty of peace gives to the French the important iron resources 
of former German Lorraine, which together with imports from French 
Lorraine were the chief sources of iron ore for German iron works, and 
the ownership of the Saar coal mines. 

The terms under which the Saar mines are transferred, and the future 
government of the district, are indicated in the following extracts from 
the treaty : 

"As compensation for the destruction of the coal mines in the north 



40 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

of France, and as part payment towards the total reparation due from 
Germany for the damages .resulting from the war, Germany cedes to 
France in full and absolute possession, with exclusive rights of exploita- 
tion, unencumbered and free from all debts and charges of any kind, 
the coal mines situated in the Saar basin." 

This is exclusive of that part of the Saar basin in Lorraine which 
belonged to France prior to 1870, and which now reverts to France with 
some minor rectifications of boundary. The treaty further specifies, "all 
the deposits of coal situated within the Saar basin will become the com- 
plete and absolute property of the French state. * * * The right of 
ownership of the French state will apply not only to the deposits which 
are free and for which concessions have not yet been granted, but also 
to the deposits for which concessions have already been granted, whoever 
may be the present proprietors, irrespective of whether they belong to 
the Prussian state, to the Bavarian state, to other states or bodies, to 
companies or to individuals. * * * The value of the property thus 
ceded to the French state will be determined by the Reparation Com- 
mission. * * * This value shall be credited to Germany in part pay- 
ment of the amount due for reparation. It will be for Germany to 
indemnify the proprietors or parties concerned, whoever they may be." 

As concerns the government of the territory of the Saar, at the termi- 
nation of a period of fifteen years, the population will be called upon to 
indicate their desires, and then, "The League of Nations shall decide on 
the sovereignty under which the territory is to be placed, taking into 
account the wishes of the inhabitants as expressed by the voting." In 
the meantime, the territory will be governed by a commission of five 
members chosen by the Council of the League of Nations. 

In addition to turning over the ownership of the mines and minerals 
in the Saar basin, Germany accords the following options for the delivery 
of coal to the undermentioned signatories of the present treaty: 

"Germany undertakes to deliver to France seven million tons of coal per year 
for ten years (it is understood that this is to provide fuel for the Alsace Lorraine 
territory ceded back to France) . In addition, Germany undertakes to deliver 
to France annually for a period not exceeding ten years, an amount of coal equal 
to the difference between the annual production before the war of the coal mines 
of the Nord and Pas de Calais, destroyed as a result of the war, and the produc- 
tion of the mines of the same area during the years in question; such delivery not 
to exceed twenty million tons in any one year of the first five years, and eight 
million tons in any one year of the succeeding five years. It is understood that 
due diligence will be exercised in the restoration of the destroyed mines in the 
Nord and the Pas de Calais." 

Besides furnishing France with coal, "Germany undertakes to deliver 
to Belgium eight million tons of coal annually for ten years;" and to 



COAL 41 

Italy from four and one-half to eight and one-half million tons annually ; 
and also to Luxemburg, "a quantity of coal equal to the pre-war annual 
consumption of German coal in Luxemburg." 

The prices to be paid for coal under these options shall be as follows : 

■" (a) For overland delivery, including delivery by barge, the German pithead 
price to German nationals, plus the freight to French, Belgian, Italian or Luxem- 
burg frontiers, provided that the pithead price does not exceed the pithead price 
of British coal for export. In the case of Belgian bunker coal, the price shall not 
exceed the Dutch bunker price. Railroad and barge tariffs shall not be higher 
than the lowest similar rates paid in Germany. 

" (6) For sea delivery, the German export price f.o.b. German ports, or the 
British export price f.o.b. British ports, whichever may be lower. 

" The allied and associated governments interested may demand the delivery, 
in place of coal, of metallurgical coke in the proportion of 3 tons of coke to 4 tons 
of coal." 

Germany undertakes to deliver to France during each of the three 
years following the coming into force of this treaty, 

Benzol 35,000 tons 

Coal tar 50,000 tons 

Sulphate of ammonia 30,000 tons 

The price paid for coke and for the articles referred to shall be the 
same as the price paid by German nationals under the same conditions 
of shipment. 

The ownership of the Saar mines is a most welcome addition to the 
coal resources of France; and the Saar basin, as it is capable of further 
development, may in the future make France more nearly self-sustaining 
as regards coal production. 

The requirement of furnishing coal to France during the rehabilita- 
tion of the French mines wrecked by the Germans is a most equitable 
arrangement. Germany at first, owing to the drop in the output of 
the Westphalian fields, claimed not to be able to furnish coal, but this 
situation will no doubt right itself in time, especially as France holds the 
whip hand through control of the iron ores necessary for the great iron 
and steel plants of the Rhine district. In the meantime it is hoped Great 
Britain, with the assistance of the United States, will be able to supply 
the deficiency in the coal requirements. 

The problems connected with the Russian coal fields are complicated, 
but at least the Dombrova coal field would seem to be in the hands 
of the new Poland, and this carries coal resources estimated at 2,525 
million tons, with an output before the war probably exceeding 7 million 
metric tons per annum. 

According to the terms of the peace treaty, a plebiscite will determine 
the political control of the Upper Silesian coal fields. 



42 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Probable Changes in Coal Trade. — In the ocean coal trade of the 
world the greatest change likely is that the United States will more largely 
supply South America, its coal being substituted for that of Great Brit- 
ain. The ocean distance is markedly in favor of the United States, 
particularly on the west coast of South America by vessels passing 
through the Canal. With the increased shipping facilities of the United 
States, there is every reason to believe exports of coal to South America 
will be equally shared between the United States and Great Britain. 

At the present time, it is evident that the British coal-mining industry 
is in a bad way, and publicists are expressing serious alarm at the possible 
loss of the greater part of the export trade and the curtailment of home 
industries through a great decrease in production accompanied by a rapid 
increase in cost. 

In 1913 Great Britain produced 287,000,000 long tons, and exported 
77,000,000 long tons of coal. During the war, owing to the large number 
of miners entering the military service, the output greatly declined, but 
was expected to recover rapidly with the signing of the armistice and the 
return of the miners. But labor unrest, resulting in strikes and absen- 
teeism, kept the output down, and on July 16, 1919, the so-called Sankey 
award went into effect. This award shortened the miners' working 
day from eight to seven hours, exclusive of the time taken in hoisting 
and lowering, but inclusive of the time taken in reaching the working 
place Rates were raised so that the miner received more in a day 
with the seven-hour day than formerly with the eight-hour day, and the 
Controller raised the price of coal six shillings a ton to offset the in- 
creased cost. 

Sir Richard Redland, chief inspector of mines, predicted that the 
output for 1919 would be 230,000,000 tons, and for 1920, 217,000,000 
tons, or a reduction of 70,000,000 tons from the output of 1913. Pre- 
sumably, in the course of time, by using additional shifts, Great Britain 
may recover its former output, though manifestly at greatly increased 
cost; so that unless the cost in the United States goes up correspond- 
ingly, there is every probability that this country will be able to compete 
successfully in export business, not only in South America, but also in 
Mediterranean ports. 

At the present time, demands for coal are reaching the United States 
not only from those parts of the world, but also from Scandinavia, 
Switzerland, Denmark, and The Netherlands. On account of nearness, 
however, Great Britain should be able to take care of the fuel require- 
ments of northern Europe. 

In the Pacific, it is not probable that either the State of Washington or 
the Territory of Alaska will produce coal in such quantity and at such a 
price that the output can be a general factor in the Pacific Coast trade. 
The demands of Alaska, Washington, and adjoining states will absorb 



COAL 43 

the local production; and California will continue to import in ballast 
more or less coal from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, China, 
Japan, New Zealand, and Australia. 

The immediate changes in Asia are more likely to be in the develop- 
ment of mines in the interior of China and in India to supply domestic 
needs rather than extensive exports, although, as before stated, it is 
possible that China will gradually get into the Pacific Coast markets. 

POSITION OF LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS 

United States. — The United States has the best coal reserve of any 
country — about 3,527,000 million out of a total world reserve of 7,900,- 
000 million tons — and good reserves of each of the several classes of coal. 
For many years there will be no danger of a shortage except for anthracite, 
good coking coal and the highest grades of steam coal, which are 
now actively mined. About 600,000,000 tons a year, or nearly 40 per 
cent, of the annual output of the world, is mined in the United 
States. 

In contrast with the reserves and production, the exports in 1913 
were only about 12 per cent, of the exports of coal from all countries; 
and a large part of the American exports goes to Canada by rail. Of 
sea-borne coal, the United States sent out only 4 per cent. This small pro- 
portion of international trade is due to the distance of our coal from sea- 
ports, the lack of organization and related shipping organizations; and, 
further, to the relative independence of the United States, which, from 
most countries, requires only a small amount of import as a return cargo 
for coal-carrying ships. We use our coal at home, but the advantage 
of exporting a considerable quantity of coal for its effects on increasing 
trade relationships with other countries is now becoming evident. 

Correlated with the large supply and small export of coal is the re- 
markable development of home industries using our own coal. From the 
curves of production (shown in Figure 3) it seems that within a century 
the United States will surpass all Europe in coal production. As our 
industries have kept pace with coal production, our consumption of coal 
is indicated roughly by the production curve. Hence it seems that the 
United States is likely to be a center of manufacturing and wealth; and 
with this will come an equally certain continual increase in population 
and power. 

The second great world supply of coal is likely to be that of China. 
To be sure, European production is large, but it will be divided among 
several powers. The main part of the world's power and industry for 
the next century is so definitely located by the coal deposits (and by 
associated iron in most cases) that the part the United States should take 
in the world's program is clear. Every precaution should be observed 



44 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

to have the Chinese resources controlled by powers that will not abuse 
them to make the world " unsafe for democracy." 

The war opened several foreign markets, especially in South America, 
to United States coal. Some of these markets may be permanent, but 
Welsh coal is still likely to dominate sea-borne trade. The United States 
has coaling stations as far away as Manila and the Samoan Islands, but 
little coal reaches them from this country. American coal supplies our 
government coaling stations in Alaska; Hawaii; our home ports, both 
Atlantic and Pacific; Cuba; Porto Rico; Nicaraguan ports; Panama 
Canal ports; Mazatlan, Mexico; and some South American ports. No 
attempt seems to have been made to establish strategic ports around 
the world, such as may be needed if the present increase in American 
shipping is to be maintained under the American flag. 

No foreign control has been influential in mining or handling coal 
in the United States. The ownership of coal mines by aliens has been 
possible, but apparently has not become important. 

American coal resources are so great that no single organization, 
foreign or domestic, has been able to dominate the situation. The lack 
of a strong trade combination made it possible (in 1916) for a combination 
of British shippers to fix the price of bunker coal in Atlantic ports, so that 
the mines got even less for it than for industrial coal. This was the re- 
sult of competitive bids, and the lack of organization here, but it is 
expected that organization will develop now. 

Since the war began the development of industries based on coal tar has 
been remarkable. There are signs, however, of an unhealthy competition 
in this country, and the government should be careful that internal 
squabbles do not open the door for German control again. 

England. — The British Isles have only one-fortieth of the total world's 
supply of coal, but this is of better than average quality. High-grade 
steam coal is abundant and there is a fair supply of coking coal. The 
annual production, 300 million tons, is about one-fifth the world's pro- 
duction, and is second only to that of the United States. England before 
the war exported about one-fourth of the production, overseas exports 
from England being six times as much as from any other country in the 
world. Coal has constituted about three-fourths of all English exports. 
The coal mines are near seaports, and ocean freight rates are low, because 
the demand for imports gives return cargoes to England from all parts 
of the world. There are large supplies of coal also in the colonies, espe- 
cially India, Australia and South Africa. 

The coal business and shipping of Great Britain grew up together. 
About one-fourth of the coal shipped goes for bunkering. In 1916 
England owned 40 per cent, of the world's shipping and exported nearly 
70 per cent, of the world's sea-borne coal. The maintenance of the ship- 
ping requires bunkering ports all around the world. Coal from Wales 



COAL 45 

and British colonies was sufficient to supply them all, and they consti- 
tute by far the most strategic system that any country possesses. 

England, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Suez, Port Said, Alden, Maskat, 
Colombo, Singapore, Bombay, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Fiji 
Islands, Vancouver, Valparaiso, St. Lucia, Jamaica, Halifax, Newfound- 
land, St. Helena, Bermuda, Cape Town and Durban, and others encircle 
the globe. France, Japan, Holland and the United States have each a 
few stations, but no such comprehensive system. The German proposals 
of terms of peace (during the war) recognized the importance of these 
stations by specifying that England should give up Aden, Malta and 
similar ports. 

Trade arrangements between Great Britain and other countries have 
been such as to grant "most favored nation" treatment to both parties, 
even with Germany, where no formal treaty was in force. The free-trade 
policy of England is well established, and on that basis England's com- 
mercial growth has been very great. Studies since the war began show 
that Germany took advantage of the freedom in British countries and the 
protection at home. For example, German capital controlled some col- 
lieries in South Yorkshire, through Mr. Stinnes, one of the largest com- 
ponents of the German Kohlen Kontor. This organization had branches 
in Newcastle, Cardiff, Glasgow, Hull, and many foreign ports. The 
French also had purchased an English colliery before the war, the Stone- 
hall colliery, at Lydden, near Dover. 

The Australian colonies and probably others found that German 
financiers owned and controlled most of the mines when war broke out. 
It took some time to destroy this influence. Early in the war, British 
sentiment seemed to call for action against all such German commercial 
aggression, and at an Allied Economic Conference at Paris in June, 1916, 
plans were suggested for protection by tariff and exclusion of alien owner- 
ship in allied countries. More recently it seems that the British plan 
is to keep British certain key industries at all hazards and at any expense, 
but not to abandon free trade or in any way decrease the amount of 
trading done. 

Commercial control of the Welsh steam-coal export trade is largely 
in the hands of the Cambria Coal Combine, but in the trade there are 
several other large combinations. The anthracite industry of England 
is not as well organized as that of America. 

Commercial control of coal exported from Wales is largely in the 
hands of the large combinations of British shippers, in agreement with the 
Cambria. Even when the war interfered with shipping, it is estimated 
that two-thirds of the South American coal trade was in British control. 

Many instances of British financial control of coal in countries other 
than British colonies have not been noted. British capital is invested 
in a few mines in Siberia and there are extensive holdings in China. 



46 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Germany. — The reserves of coal in Germany before the war were 
greater than those in England, counting possible reserves, and of fair 
quality. Germany formerly controlled 70 per cent, of the coal on the 
Continent. Austrian coal was controlled, and the coal of Spitzbergen has 
been claimed, though now in British and Norwegian control. 

Although the most important deposits of coking coal of the Conti- 
nent are in Westphalia, those of Belgium and northern France are very 
important to a general control of the coal situation. It cannot be 
assumed that these important coal fields were seized by the Germans for 
other reasons, or that the Germans included coal and iron by accident. 
In 1911 the Rhenish Westphalian Zeitung advised that French Lorraine 
and Luxemburg should be dominated as thoroughly as Westphalia was. 
In 1915 the six greatest associations of business men in Germany peti- 
tioned the Chancellor to consider the control of the coal (and iron) of 
northern France as a military as well as economic necessity. 

The annual production of coal in Germany before the war was about 
one-fifth of the world's total output, closely approaching the production 
of Great Britain. In the first years of the war the coal output declined 
somewhat. In coal exports, Germany has been second only to the Brit- 
ish Isles, but no country exports by sea one-sixth as much as Great 
Britain. Before the war Germany had established some fourteen " Kohlen 
depots" abroad and had a large amount of shipping. These bunkering 
ports were taken by the Allies. 

An example of German industrial penetration is furnished by the 
case of Kiau Chau, China. In 1899 the Shantung Eisenbahn Gesell- 
schaft was formed in Berlin with headquarters at Tsingtao. It acquired 
exclusive rights for 5 years to search for minerals in a zone 10 miles each 
side of the railway and to acquire claims. Chinese mines were not to be 
allowed to adopt modern methods and compete, unless they bought 
German material and employed German men. The mines that were 
developed produced good steamship coal and good enough coke, so that 
a blast furnace was planned. The Germans lost their control when war 
broke out, and these rights have passed, under the terms of the peace 
treaty, to Japan. German capital that had been invested some years 
ago in the Chung Hsing Coal Co. was bought out in 1908. 

France. — Before the war France was fifth in the list of world's coal 
producers, but for many years needed more coal than she produced. 
Possibly enough coal could have been mined in France by greater de- 
velopments, but to import it was cheaper. French capital was invested 
in some foreign coal deposits. A company of French control owned the 
Stonehall colliery, near Dover. Before the war a French company was 
one of the largest operators in Turkey and was steadily acquiring new 
mines. A French company owned an important colliery in the Dom- 
brova field, now part of Poland. 



COAL 47 

France has maintained government coaling stations for shipping in 
Indo-China, Tahiti, Society Islands, Martinique, and Madagascar; but 
no attempt is made to supply them wholly with French coal, or to be 
independent of other coaling stations. 

Italy.- — Italy has a poor supply of low-grade coal, and the normal 
production is insignificant. Imports have been large, those from Great 
Britain amounting in 1914 to 10,000,000 tons. 

Russia. — Russia has several important coal fields. The production 
was 31,000,000 tons in 1915 and 23,000,000 in 1916, so that Russia, in- 
cluding the province of Ukraine, has ranked fifth or sixth among the 
world's producers. If the demand for coal develops under the stimu- 
lus of industrial stability, the output will all be consumed in Russia. 
About two-thirds of the production has been raised in the Donetz basin. 
Half of this is coking coal. 

Japan. — Japan has on the main island, Hondo, enough coal to permit 
considerable exports. Supplies in Korea and Formosa are less abundant. 
In all Japan's coal there is very little of good coking quality. 

When the war reduced the amount of British shipping in the North 
Pacific, Japanese ships supplied Japanese coal to a number of new coaling 
stations, and the British may find it difficult to regain their former promi- 
nence in bunkering there. Japanese coal now gets as far west also as 
Colombo, Ceylon. 

Japanese law specifies Japanese control of the policy of mining 
companies, though some foreign financial interests are allowed. Japan 
controls a part of the coal produced in China, and by presenting insistent 
demands is increasing her control in that country. If given a free hand, 
Japan is in a position to exercise industrial and military control in Asia 
almost as thoroughly as the United States can in America. English and 
Belgian interests have some Chinese coal, and thus are about the only 
real competition at present with Japanese control. 

China. — Outside the United States, China has the largest coal re- 
serves of any country in the world. ' The coal varies in quality and grade; 
some of it is excellent, but the production has reached only about 18,000,- 
000 tons a year. Some districts export and others import coal. The 
country could easily be independent if there were internal means of dis- 
tribution. There might even be large exports if production began in 
advance of other industrial development. Coking coal is available only 
in certain areas, mostly in the south. 

The largest and best-equipped producer is the Kailan Mining Admin- 
istration, operating British and Chinese properties. The ownership of 
the company is mostly in Belgian hands, but the incorporation is under 
Hong Kong law, so that the company is under British control. 

The chief producers in China are: 



48 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 
Table 6. — Chief Producers op Coal in China 



Company 


Tons a year 


Control 


Kailan Mining Administration. . . 
Funshun Collieries 


3,000,000 
2,000,000 

1,000,000 
500,000 
300,000 
800,000 


British and Chinese 
Owned by the South 


Pingshieng Collieries 

Pekin Syndicate 


Manchuria Railway 

Co. (Japanese) 
Chinese 
British 


Pingshihu 


Japanese 


Lincheng 


Belgian 







The Mining Company of Shantung, producing 400,000 tons a year, 
formerly owned by the Germans, is now run by the Japanese military 
organization. Thus only one of the large producers is under Chinese con- 
trol, though many smaller mines are worked by Chinese. The Chinese 
law designed to prevent foreign control of this sort is not effective. It 
requires that the share of a mining industry held by foreigners shall not 
be over one-half; but if a foreign company owns half the shares and 
finances the Chinese half by a loan, the foreign control may be complete. 
There is a further control of mining, through the ownership of railways. 
All the larger producers must ship coal by rail, and foreign nations are 
allowed to finance railways. The difficulty of a government exercising 
adequate political and commercial control when it grants concessions 
in this way is evident. 

General mining affairs in China are supervised by a Bureau of Min- 
ing Affairs. Any specific enterprise is controlled by a commissioner of 
finance in each province. It is questionable, however, whether govern- 
mental control will be strong enough to overbalance commercial and 
financial control, and diplomatic pressure from outside. Those com- 
panies incorporated under Hong Kong law can count on British protec- 
tion. Japanese demands on China have been very insistent, and it is 
said that about a third of the production of the country is now controlled 
by Japan. 

As a whole, China seems to take a small part in the control of her 
own coal. The opportunity for other powers to get financial, and, 
through that, industrial favors may be involved in the problem of financ- 
ing the central government. 

Conclusions. — As regards political control, three great national or 
race factors loom in the future of the coal industry and in the develop- 
ment of wealth and power: the European, dominated by England; 
the American, by the United States; and the Asiatic, by Japan. The 
efforts of England during the war temporarily prostrated her, and di- 
minished the grip of her export coal and bunkering trade, but conditions 



COAL 



49 





Table 7.- 


—Production, Exports and 

Millions of metric tons 


Imports for 1913 1 


Country 


Kind of coal 


Production 


Exports 


Imports 


Remarks (1919) 


United 










Resources greater than those 


States. . . 


Anthracite 


85 


4.1 




of any other country ; can easily 




Bituminous 


432 


18.0 


1.4 


increase ocean exports with 




Coke 


42 


1.0 


0.1 


more shipping available. Pres- 




Bunker 








ent exports chiefly to Canada. 




coal 




(7.7) 




Value of coal-tar products im- 
ported in 1913, $10,962,000. 












Great 










Chief coal-exporting country; 


Britain. . 


Anthracite 


5 






before war had virtual monop- 




Bituminous 


282 


73.4 




oly of ocean exports. Export 




Coke 


20.5 


1.2 




control imperiled by shortage 




Briquettes 
Bunker 




2.1 




from labor conditions. 














coal 




(21.0) 






German 










Coal needed for Central Eu- 


Empire 


Bituminous 


191 


34.6 


10.5 


rope. Exports by rail and 




Lignite 


87 




7 


canal. Distance from sea- 




Coke 


32 


6.4 


0.6 


ports prevents oversea exports. 




Coal 








Westphalia has largest coking 




Briquettes 


5.8 


2.3 


0.3 


coal resources in Europe. 




Lignite 








Ownership of Saar mines trans- 




Briquettes 


21.4 


0.9 


0.1 


ferred to France by Treaty of 


Saar Dis- 










Peace 


trict 


Bituminous 


17.0 








(Included 


Coke 


2.0 








under 












German 












Empire, 












above) 












Upper 


Bituminous 


49.1 






Nationality of Upper Silesia 


Silesia 










to be determined by plebiscite; 


(Included 


Lignite 


2.3 






coal production vital to east- 


under 


Coke 


3.1 






ern Germany, Poland and Aus- 


German 










tria. 


Empire, 












above) 












Austria- 












Hungary 


Bituminous 


17.6 


0.7 


13.7 


Austria, already deficient in 




Lignite 


36.4 


7.0 




bituminous coal, under the 
Peace Treaty loses practically 
all coal fields to Poland and 
Cz echo-Slovakia. 



Compiled by George S. Rice. 



50 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



Table 7. — Production, Exports and Imports for 1913 (Continued) 

Millions of metric tons 



Country 


Band of coal 


Production 


Exports 


Imports 


Remarks (1919) 


Austria 
(Included 
under 
Austria- 
Hungary, 
p. 49) 


Bituminous 

Lignite 

Coke 


16.3 

27.4 

2.6 






Hungary always lacked 
enough bituminous coal, and 
under any political control 
must continue to import coal 
from Upper Silesia. 


Hungary 
(Included 
under 
Austria- 
Hungary 
p. 49) 


Bituminous 

Lignite 

Coke 


1.3 
9.0 
0.2 








France 


Bituminous 
Lignite 
Coke 
Briquettes 


40.0 
0.8 
4.0 
3.7 


1.3 

0.2 
0.1 


18.7 

3.0 
1.1 


France consumed in 1913 
(millions of tons) 

Coal 51.2 

Coke 6.9 

Briquettes 4.8 

.6279 

Deficit 21 millions tons in 
1913. Addition of Saar pro- 
duction (17,000,000 tons) will 
not cancel the deficit, as the 
needs of the local district and 
those Qf former German Lor- 
raine will absorb that or more. 
Mines wrecked by Germany 
produced 20,000,000 tons; Ger- 
many to supply equivalent 
amount until mines rehabili- 
tated. France must continue 
indefinitely to import coal and 
coke. 


Russia 

(Included 
in above 
is the 
Dombro- 
va field of 
Poland) 


Bituminous 
chiefly 

Bitumin- 
ous (Some 
brown coal) 


32.3 
7.0 




8.1 


Russia, with poorly devel- 
oped fields and great future 
needs, has imported from 
Great Britain and Germany; 
through loss of the Dombrova 
field (extension of Upper Sile- 
sian basin) needs more coal 
than can produce and is un- 
likely ever to be an exporting 
country. 


Belgium 


Bituminous 

Coke 

Briquettes 


22.8 
3.5 
2.6 


4.9 
1.1 
0.6 


8.9 
0.4 
1.1 


Belgium has high-grade 
steam coals and some coking 
coal; beds are deep and diffi- 
cult to mine. Its exports to 
Holland and France probably 
will in future continue to be 
exceeded by imports from 
Westphalia and Great Britain. 



COAL 



51 



Table 8. — Countries in Europe Largely Dependent on Imports of Fuel. 
Production and Imports, 1913 1 

Millions of metric tons 



Country 


Kind of coal 


Production 


Imports 


Remarks (1919) 


Holland 


Bituminous 


2.0 


12.0 


Holland, in the small Limbourg 
basin, has an extension of the Aix-la- 
Chapelle basin of Germany. The 
output is increasing, but as the basin is 
small Holland will import from West- 
phalia, Belgium and Great Britain or 
America. 


Italy 


Anthracite 
and 
Lignite 


0.7 


10. 


Italy has insignificant and poor re- 
sources in thin anthracite beds and in 
lignite deposits; has depended on 
Great Britain for imports, but now the 
United States is furnishing some coal. 
Water-power developments are large; 
opportunity for further development. 


Spain 


Bituminous 


4.3 


3.6 


Spain has a number of small coal 
basins. It must continue to import. 


Sweden 


Bituminous 


0.4 


4.8 


Sweden has a few thin impure beds, 
but has relied on imports from Great 
Britain. 


Norway 






2.3 


Norway has no coal resources and 
has imported coal from Great Britain. 


Switzer- 
land 






1.6 


Switzerland has no coal worthy of 
mention; it has relied on imports from 
Westphalia. Since the armistice, 
Switzerland has imported coal from 
the United States, but this movement 
is abnormal. 



1 Compiled by George S. Rice. 

late in 1919 indicated that recovery might be rapid. The immediate 
growth in the mining of coal for use at home, with consequent progress in 
steel and other industries, however, will be greatest in the United States, 
because of our gigantic resources. In the East, however, are indications 
of a development of China's coal and the growth of attendant indus- 
tries on a scale which may in time outstrip those of any country except 
America, and transfer the bulk of wealth and power to the two great 
civilizations, on either side of the Pacific — the newest, that of America, 
and the oldest, that of China and Japan. The war and the settlements 
after the war proved an unmixed benefit and opportunity to Japan, 



52 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



and enabled her so to strengthen herself in China and Korea that she is 
not only the preponderating power in the East, but may claim a sphere 
of influence and a wide protectorate for Asia, far more effective than the 
American Monroe Doctrine. 

Having regard to national internal economy and external and internal 
effectiveness, the United States will clearly neglect the main function 
of government if it fails to exercise an effective supervision and regulation 
of the coal industry. This industry is national; every citizen has an in- 
terest in it, and a right to expect its administration for the highest bene- 
fit of all. 



Table 9. — Production and Imports op Fuel op South American Countries 

in 1913 1 

Millions of metric tens 



Country 


Production 


Imports 


Remarks (1919) 


Argentina 




4.0 


Argentina has no coal resources. Im- 
ports chiefly from Great Britain; Cardiff 
coal. 


Brazil 




2.2 


Brazil has coal, but it is inaccessible for 




transportation. 


Chile 


1.23 


0.6 


Chile has some coal, but does not mine 




enough high-grade coal for its needs; has 
imported from Great Britain. 


Colombia 






Colombia has some undeveloped coal 
resources; has imported a little coal from 
time to time from the United States. 


Peru 


0.28 


0.02 


Peru has small coal resources and mines 




a little coal, practically enough for its 
needs. 


Uruguay 




0.8 


Uruguay has no coal resources and im- 
ported some in the past, chiefly from 
Great Britain. 


Total South 
America 


1.51 


7.6 





1 Compiled by George S. Rice. 



COAL 



53 



Table 10. — 1913 Production, Exports, and Imports of Coal of Principal 
Countries of Asia and Australia 1 

Millions of metric tons 



Country 


Kind of coal 


Production 


Exports 


Imports 


Remarks (1919) 


Japan. . . . 


Bituminous 


21.8 


3.5 




Japan does not have large 
coal resources and coal is not 
of high grade, but deposits are 
advantageously located for ex- 
porting. 


India 




16.5 






India has considerable good 
coal, but this will be needed for 
domestic purposes and bunk- 
ering. ! 


China. . . . 


Bituminous 


14.0 




about 
2.0 


Coal is imported from Japan, 
but China has great coal re- 
sources, and these are being de- 
veloped by Japanese, British 
and American capital. Ger- 
many had large interests, which 
have reverted, it is understood, 
to Japan. 


Indo- 
China. . 




0.4 






Indo-China has some coal, 
both anthracite and lignite. 


Siberia . . . 










Little is known of the coal 






resources of Siberia. There 
are many indications of lignite 
deposits. 


New 
South 
Wales 




10.5 


6.0 




New South Wales has large 






resources of good coal. One- 
half of the 6 million tons ex- 
ported goes to other Australian 
states ; the other half to Pacific 
ports. 



1 Compiled by George S. Rice . 



54 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 
Table 10. — Continued 



Country- 


Kind of coal 


Production 


Exports 


Imports 


Remarks (1919) 


NeW 

Zealand 




1.9 






New Zealand has small coal 
basins, but they are close to the 
sea, permitting ready export. 


Queens- 
land . . . 




1.1 






Queensland, Victoria, and 
Western Australia have con- 
siderable coal resources, but 
not of grade or quality to be a 
factor in export trade. 


Victoria . . 




0.6 






Western 
Aus- 
tralia.. . 




0.3 







CHAPTER III 
IRON 

By E. C. Harder and F. T. Eddingfield 
USES OF IRON 

The uses of iron ore are so well known that their enumeration is hardly 
necessary. From iron ore are manufactured cast iron, wrought iron, and 
steel. By the addition of one or more other elements, chiefly silicon, 
carbon, chromium, nickel, manganese, vanadium, sulphur, and phos- 
phorus, in quantities less than 5 per cent, and usually less than 1 per 
cent., various qualities, such as hardness, toughness, elasticity, dura- 
bility, brittleness, density, porosity, endurance, resistance to oxidation 
or corrosion, malleability, and fusibility, can be controlled and given to 
the cast iron or steel in the desired degree. 

The uses of the products of iron ore are so common that the finding 
of objects which do not contain some of them is difficult. Besides being 
used as a metal, iron enters into the manufacture of paints (especially red, 
yellow, and blue) , chemicals of various kinds, medicines, coloring matter 
in glass and pottery, and in the form of specular hematite it is made into 
jewelry. Considerable amounts of iron ore are also consumed annually 
for flux in the smelting of silver, copper, lead, and other metallif erous ores. 

Iron and its products are more widely used than any other metal; 
and the yearly production of pig iron makes up 94 to 96 per cent, of the 
total amount of all the metals produced in the world, and in normal 
times averages about 80,000,000 tons annually. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

Iron ores are associated with many different classes of rocks — sedimen- 
tary, igneous, and metamorphic. Where associated with sedimentary 
rocks the ores may be the result of direct sedimentation or may be later 
replacements of sedimentary beds by magmatic or meteoric iron-bearing 
waters. Many iron-ore deposits associated with sedimentary rocks are 
formed by the enrichment of original iron-bearing beds, either by solution 
and transportation of iron compounds or by the removal of other asso- 
ciated mineral constituents. 

Among those important iron-ore deposits of sedimentary origin 
that have undergone little or no further enrichment since deposition, 
except perhaps directly at the surface, are the iron ores of the Clinton 

55 



56 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

type of the eastern United States, the Wabana iron ores of Newfoundland, 
the "minette" ores of the Lorraine district in northern France, Luxem- 
burg, and southern Germany, the oolitic siderite beds of the Cleveland 
district in northern England, and the hematite ores of Minas Geraes in 
Brazil. The most important of the sedimentary iron ores that are the 
result of further enrichment since deposition are those of the Lake 
Superior district in the United States. 

Iron ores associated with igneous rock are mostly of deep-seated origin, 
usually having been formed by solutions that accompanied or followed 
the intrusion of the rocks with which the ores are associated. These 
ores are of two main classes: (1) Those associated with siliceous igneous 
rocks; and (2) those associated with basic igneous rocks. The ores 
associated with siliceous igneous rocks consist either of hematite or, 
more commonly, magnetite. They occur in granite, syenite, and mon- 
zonite, and in gneiss derived from these by metamorphism. Many 
important ore deposits in different countries belong to this class, among 
them being the magnetite and hematite deposits of Swedish Lapland and 
of central Sweden, the magnetite bodies of the Adirondacks and northern 
New Jersey in the eastern United States, various magnetite and hematite 
bodies in California and elsewhere in the western United States, the mixed 
hematite and magnetite deposits of the south coast of Cuba, most of 
the iron-ore bodies of Chile, and the newly developed iron ores of Man- 
churia. As a class, the iron ores associated with siliceous igneous rocks 
rank next in importance to iron ores of sedimentary origin. 

Iron-ore deposits associated with basic igneous rocks are nearly all 
of a distinct type known as titaniferous magnetites. These ores consist 
of a mixture of magnetite and ilmenite in varying proportions, and there- 
fore carry a variable amount of titanium. Many large ore deposits of 
this class are found in different parts of the world, among the larger ones 
being certain ore bodies in Wyoming, in the Adirondack region, and 
elsewhere in the United States, and several deposits in Norway and in 
northern and southern Sweden. 

An important group of iron-ore deposits has resulted from mineral 
replacement along the contact of sedimentary rocks with igneous intru- 
sives. These ores usually occur in limestones not far from intrusive 
masses of granite, monzonite, syenite or diorite, but they may be found 
within the igneous rocks themselves, near the contact. They are rarely 
associated with the more basic igneous rocks. These ores are known as 
igneous contact ores, and their origin is ascribed to iron-bearing solutions 
that accompanied or followed the intrusion of the igneous rocks with 
which the ores are associated. Such ores are extremely widespread, 
occurring in practically every continent. Locally, extensive deposits 
exist, as in the Cornwall district of Pennsylvania, in the western United 
States and British Columbia, in Chile, and in China and Japan. Igneous 



IRON hi 

contact ores have furnished only a relatively small percentage of the 
world's total production of iron ore, however. 

There are also widespread replacement deposits in sedimentary 
rocks that are not associated with igneous rocks. These are believed 
to be formed by ordinary meteoric waters which dissolve disseminated 
iron minerals from certain beds or masses of rock, and redeposit the min- 
eral elsewhere in a more concentrated form. Such ore deposits may be 
roughly tabular and resemble bedded deposits, or they may be very irregu- 
lar. Most deposits of this type consist of siderite which has replaced 
limestone, but hematite and limonite deposits formed by replacement 
also exist. Among the important deposits of this group are the siderite 
ores of Bilbao, Spain, largely altered to limonite near the surface; the 
siderite ore of Eisenerz, Styria; and the hematite deposits near Hartville, 
Wyoming. Small deposits of siderite, hematite, and limonite of this 
type are found in many parts of the world. 

Besides the classes of iron ores already mentioned, widely distributed 
iron ores occur as residual products derived from the weathering of either 
igneous or sedimentary rocks. These ores have been formed by the 
concentration of iron-bearing materials originally disseminated through 
the rocks whose weathered products they now constitute. They are 
mainly in the form of limonite and occur either as large bodies of rela- 
tively pure ore or as aggregates of irregular masses of various sizes im- 
bedded in clays. To this class belong the brown iron ores associated 
with clay in the Appalachian region of the United States, the limonite ores 
of parts of Russia, and similar ores in Korea. In this class should also 
be included the extensive limonite deposits derived from the weathering 
of serpentine which have recently been developed along the north coast 
of Cuba, as well as the lateritic iron-ore deposits found in many tropical 
countries, Limonite ores associated with clays have been smelted since 
early ages, owing to their accessibility and the ease with which they 
could be smelted by crude methods. They have, however, furnished a 
decidedly minor percentage of the world's production of iron ore. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The iron ore consumed by the world has been obtained principally 
from the four great iron-producing countries: United States, Germany, 
France and Great Britain. 

Other countries that yield important quantities of iron ore are, in the 
order of their importance: Spain, Russia, Sweden, Luxemburg, Austria- 
Hungary, Cuba, Newfoundland, and Algeria. The normal annual out- 
put in each one of these countries is more than one million tons. Minor 
amount's of iron ore are produced in many other countries. 

More than two-fifths of the total annual output of iron ore in the world 
has come from the United States ; and of the American production more 



58 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



OXSOH 

--ioocoio 
eico"odoo 

OS iO 00 00 
HUJNN 



<N O-^IN 

CO Ot>-00 

v co~;£-;^-<Noo"co":r' 
'i-> wwO t> eo ws 

OS"* 



t>CO-<* 
lO«OC0 
MNN 
v i-"c"irf 



CO CO iO IN 
OSi-KNf- 
0|> CO O 
!0"<NCo"n* 



iH NOOS© COOOOO 

>C t}<O00O COt>iO 

OS CO_-#Ot> t^<NCO_ 

wtN wwOO IN Tf< CO wwO l> OS 



00<N00CO 00 

1> i-HlQO OS 

■<j<*HHcdC' co'r 

I>tJ<,-iiOw <Nw 

CNCN-^rH OS 



t>00cO© 
iO-*OOS 

io"t>"»OCO 
CO001>iO 



l>CO i-l<NiOOS <NOs<N 

CO^< lOCOCOt> lOOr-l 

COO OS_CNN-CO lOOO 

r-t OC/>0(OTtiO^ONNM 
CM HfflOS lONtN 



NOOM 

Th >"Ht^CO 

0»0<NOS 


t~OS 

lOr-. 


Ncooecr 
cooosco w 

"5NCOH 


IOCO 
OOO 

00 i-H 



OOO.H O COCO COCOON t^r^tN 

NHOtO COO "#CO t^lNOOOSCO lOOOO 

COhON Ot}< CN O VCi-IOSt~iO CO OS iO 

cxTrHco'os "^-cnT ci-H^^T*ioco*.^"co~;rocNft>."' 

--I CM CO CO <N CO 00 wwOS OS <N ■* w^-i 00 CO 

tNOOlO-* CO OS CNOOSO ^rf<00 



00<Nt*hcO(N i-H 

iCOt^OSOS O 

NOCHCO rH 

CCOSi-H-l" t>" 

OOt^-^CO OS 

TJ< ,-( TJH 1-1 O 



COi-IOOt- 00 lO 1C00 "300 O00tJ< OS IN ^HNiOOO CNOiOt^cD 

l> CO lO CO b- CM »C Ttl CO OS Tfi i-l i-l CD OS OS r» Tf< (N tJ< t>- tP Oi rj< 

CD^00_-* 00^ (N C3 0_<» lO CO CD lO 00 CO i-H >-i CO CO CO M00 00 "3 

^t* IN COO COI> COIXN i-l 0o"c0 IO »0 00b-"c0b-b- CDoTooO 

b-OOCOOO »Hif5 CO ■* t» b- O OS i-H CO •* tH O "3 OS i-<C0b-O 

(Nifl'^CS CNrHiO^b-COiOtNiO OS.^^ ! ^HCCH 

rHi-Hi-H »0 i-HCO* t>T NOs't^lo" ^ 

CO <N<N i-H 



C0l>C0b- 
IOOS©t}< 
b-b.CS.-H 
<Nl>"rH"0 

OSOS"3»0 
tHCOCN'H 

T-HrHlo" 



COO 

Tj<0 
lOi-H 

cd"cn" 



<ooo 

>iO00 

(00H 

oo"co 



ICO ION CO -^ i-l 
COO CO-* t*< tKCS 
00O5 CO_OS l>OCO 

-rj" (N — i4 oo" '— ©" >o" o 
<n i> *r,o in " © os os 

coco" CO 



H ^ OS OS b- 
OCN(Nb-Tt< 
ICINO^CO 



b-Tt<<N<N 

OHOiO 
00 l> OS_iO 
b^COi-"©" 
00CON-J> 
1-lrHi-HOO 



i-HOtXNCO _ i-HCO 
lOCOtDHOg IOCO 
GO i-^OS 00 i-h g OIN 

05 00* co* oo" CO* * '— t^ oT - 
N^nOojNnhh; 

N ^H CO "* ■* «° ^<N 



COOOrH 
CNCDIN 
iOQOtJI 



CM<N(Nt-<cO 

Tt<O^HO^ 

^3 05CNO(N 

o co'co*^ 

OOJCDTf 
i-l COrH 



OOCOiO 



"O 
<NcO 

"3 CO 



.-HO 
COOl 
COCO 



O00 

coco 
ho" 
00 1> 
tNCO 



00 00 
(NCO 

OH 



-* 1 . 
00o 
"3 OS 



COOS 

o&o 

00 OS 



■*00i-l 

os co co 

COO CO 
I>iN 
OStN 



CO 00 (NCO 
(NOSOO 
CO^t>OS_ 

MCDOH 
(N^HO 



s"S«- 



CNT}<Tt<OS_00 ifl> 
l>(N00t-2t^ COO 

iOOOS"0^iO COCO 






O^iO 

HCOH 

COtNO 

-o"io*o" 

.CO OIN 
lO-^IN 
00"io"'"3 



NNtOHOO 00 

t^«N(N(NTt< (N 

T^CO^cDOSi-l IN 

O-^-H^IN CO" 

CO OlO CO rt< 

i-li-l i-l O 



OTJ 0> 

- - -"£-£ B£ » 



^9 



3 s ® a 






c! 03 M c8 



a 

03 oj 
5. 



^2; to 



c 

9.9* "C o rt-j-s m 



^OO^P^O> §<lPQfeOO£>3£fi<tfKceP 



: c3"S §>§;=! 



.ofe- ,--.;,.,:; 



3 



T) 




fl 












i-O 


S 


OS 


QJ 








0, 








03 












a 


3 


^3 




o 


DO 


5 


K 


OJ 




^4 






rt 
Fh 


a 


0) 


o 


a 




% 






^ 






>, 03 


0J 




> 








d 


or 


0Q 





pie 

"-! 03 



M P. 

"73 OJ 

C M 

03 _ 

03 

S'S 

tfi a 

O® "S .2 
. oo CQ o3 

09 ••— < 

" m •- o o3 
t 1 bo 



^ o 

•si 

00 OJ 

0?t3 



cq ° 
O m 



0J 0J 



a 
o . 

MO 
Art 
OT2 
oo 5 
1^ 

!-■§■& 

o_ c a 

m'O 03 O 

.t< « oJ oJ 



1 o £ 



«oc„ag 
3.9-ftutf' 



rhCM 

O SO 

T3"3 



00 00 



0J 03 
M . 03 00 -u +> 

OJ oj"^^ Mqo 
3m 3 ftCjTJ 






- ^« » « » , 



IRON 



59 





t* 


o 


CO 


o 


o 


o 


o 


rH 


o 


o 


CO 


•* O 


. o 






OOOOOOOO^OOCNlt^O 
b.OOJOOOOi00005"50 


o 




o 


o 






■^ot>ooooa>ooTf<ojo 

«01iOOOO!OK3T|(iClNO 


o 




8 


a 


•tfOOOCOOOOt-'tfTiiCO'O 










OMOJlQ^Mrlrt 


t» 





CO rH 


t> 


C0-*C5OOOOOOOOI>O 
iHl>>oOOOO(NOOOiOO 
CMOOCOO©0©t}<©©©050 


co 




CM 












10 


enwooofflOifliorioMO 

rH©a>OCOCMO<NiOCMOOi-H© 


tJ( 


OS 


00 


CSONOOi3U500Nt|(«MN 


CM 




Of rH 00 <* CO i-T 


co- 




CM iH 


co 




<^1>000©©©<NOO©00000 

rlliliSOOOONOONNO 
MrHOOOOOOOiOOOrJfO 


lO 




CM 




CO 








TT 


C<l(N»OOOOOiOOiOOi»00 
COCOOOOiOOOCNOt^Oi© 


o 


Ol 


o 


» H q W H lO 15 N O ^ M N n 


°°- 










CO -^ C5 CO* ^* t-5" rH 


c" 




CM i-t 


"5 




CqiNNOONONMCOHHHO 

iflNHMONOHOtOHOO 


1> 




-tf 




hOOMNhNhhOO'IO 


CO 








CO 


O-#rHt>rf<»O00i00000O<OO 


to 


1-1 


OOOONNCOHHNHMniO 


I> 


OS 


ttO'*Nij(wnON'll'#(NN 


00 










OWOIQtJNNH 


t> 




CO rH rH 


1> 




NHrjiMOHtOOOMNOOlO 


o 




MMMHCJiOMOMDOO 


co 




OJiQHOiOHCOOONOOQNO 


to 








CM 


COcOa>©COcOt><NCOcOCOOO 


CO 




NOOOONCONOHCOffiNOlO 




OJ 


t^iO_0000rH<NCO_C»COCOC0CMC0 


t» 










a" t>-" 00 »# rj* <N OS- 


<N 




CM i-l 


l> 




NOOOOOONOCMNffliJlOO 


i—i 




^^MO>OWM(OCO"*00 
U5<0(0^0000(»WM(NHOO 


O 




© 










Ol^OOOJHONMiTltNOOOO 


CM 




•*OrHOCO»Ol>(N(N0050»0 


Tt< 


o 


O^NtOiOOOWO'llNNH 


CO 










CO iO o) ^ CO CM CM 


CO 




CM i-l 


CO 




NQNOOOOOOHOOWN^O 


CM 




(OONNWOOINHOONiOOO 


1-H 




iOU3O^ON00NWt)I!DNO 


t> 








o 


MOlN^NMNO^NNOO 


of 


OS 


OiO<-l|>0>iO<NT^05tDTj<000 


K> 


MiONOOHOONlOWMrllM 


■*n 










N ^ OCO N N H 


"3 




<N iH rH ** "" 


50 




CqMH(DO!iO«OMU30) • O 


lO 




Tj(NO)tOOOO)NOlOH(0 • O 


co 




NM(DO>N®OOONMU3 • O 


00 


o 
o 

OS 






OH0)0)0)NH(D00ffln . o 


rH 


COOOiOtOOONOOOHOOlM .C 
N CO ffi O 00 ■* q_ iO CM . iH 


00 


i ~i 




« W" 00 CM CM >=* iH ; 


o 






<■# 




eoN^oOHujioaiiooo^ • o 


3 




OOOHOOfflOOCOdJiOOlO) • o 




MJONHIOOM^HIOO • o 


© 


o 
a> 

00 






H^r|(H(NO'00)MtOi( . o 


>* 


O00OWHHNH00NH .00 


© 


« io oi o a a N •«# t-h 


© 




of tjT tC t4 


CO- 
CM 




WO OMUJOIN • O • • • O 


•o 




lO o o >o iO o »o 


o 




• o 






1> © © CO <0 © tH 


o 




• o 


"* 


o 

00 












co o o io t> o ■* 


6" 




I c 




tO "3 O O CM iO -* 


lO 




. T- 


© 


»0 CO CO ■* CM CM r-i 








■"* 




CM- 








•* 


>> 






























2 






























o 

o 












a 










• a 

. a 








CO 


CO 


.2 


- bo 

i i 

-r> k 


< 
2 


s 


g 


> 


• T 

; P 

: 5 

. c 

S fr 


1 

c 






'e 


c 


c 




2 

(£ 


2 

< 


PC 


u c 




1 

* 


c 


.3 


* i 
i-? c 







: PM rH 



60 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



than 80 per cent, is generally produced in the Lake Superior district. 
This district is, therefore, by far the most important iron-ore district in 
the world, producing annually more than 30 per cent, of the world's total 
of iron ore. 

Germany and France have been next in importance to the United 
States as iron ore-producing countries, about 80 per cent, of the ore mined 
in these two countries being obtained from the Lorraine iron fields situ- 
ated on the border. The annual output of these fields, which includes 
also the ores of Luxemburg, has been about 25 per cent, of the world's 
production. The Lorraine district and the Lake Superior district to- 
gether, therefore, produce somewhat more than one-half of the total iron 
ore annually mined in the world. 

The iron ore produced in Great Britain is obtained mainly from the 
Cleveland district of northern England, this district furnishing about 40 
per cent, of the British total, equivalent to about 2.6 per cent, of the 
world's annual production. In comparison, the Birmingham district of 
Alabama and the Krivoi-Rog district of southern Russia, which are next 
in importance to the Lorraine and Lake Superior districts, furnish about 
3.5 per cent, and 3.2 per cent., respectively, of the world's annual pro- 
duction. 



Table 13. — Production and Movement of Iron Ore and Production of Pig 

Iron, 1913 1 

Gross Tons 



Production 

of 

iron ore 



Iron ore 
imports 



Iron ore 
exports 



Apparent 

consumption 

(in part 

stocks) 



Production 

of 

pig iron 



United Kingdom . 

Canada 

Belgium 

France 

Italy 

Russia 

Austria 

Hungary 

Germany (includ- 
ing Luxemburg) 

Spain 

Sweden 

United States .... 

Algeria 

Chile 

Cuba 

Newfoundland 



"15,997,328 
307,634 
149,450 

•19,160,407 
603,116 

' 8,077,000 
3,039,324 

• 2,059,000 

'35,941,285 
' 9,861,668 
' 7,475,571 

'61,980,437 

i> 1,349,000 

70,000 

> 1,500,000 

v 1,605,900 



8,028,532 
2,110,828 
4,400,000 
1,410,424 
7,666 

942,312 



14,019,045 



2,594,770 



21,223 
126,124 

10,066,627 

20,000 

565,000 

106,071 

700,000 

2,613,158 
8,907,202 
6,440,000 

1,350,000 

65,000 

1,582,431 

1,605,920 



24,004,637 
2,292,338 
4,549,450 

10,504,264 

590,772 

7,512,000 

3,875,565 

1,359,000 

47,347,172 

954,466 

1,035,571 

64,575,207 



10,260,315 
1,015,118 
2,484,690 
5,311,316 

426,755 
4,557,000 
1,757,864 

623,000 

19,291,920 
424,774 
730,257 

30,966,152 



1 Advisory Council, Dept. of Sci. and Indust. Research: " Report on the sources 
and production of iron and other metalliferous ores used in the iron and steel indus- 



try," London, 1918, p. 12. 



IRON 61 

Table 11 shows the world's production of iron ore from 1910 to 1917. 

Table 12 shows the production of pig iron in 1850, 1890, 1900, and 1910 
to 1916. 

Table 13 shows the production and movement of iron ore and the 
production of pig iron for the year 1913. 

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

United States. — The principal iron ores of the United States are the 
extensive pre-Cambrian hematite deposits of the Lake Superior region; 
the bedded fossiliferous ores of the Clinton type of Alabama and other 
southern states; the magnetite deposits of New York, northern New 
Jersey, and southeastern Pennsylvania; the limonite ores of the eastern 
and southern states; and the mixed hematite and magnetite ores of the 
West. The United States is the largest producer of iron ore in the world, 
and annually yields more than two-fifths of the world's supply. More 
than 80 per cent, of the output comes from the Lake Superior district 
and most of the remainder from Alabama, New York, and Pennsylvania. 
In 1917 there were mined in the United States 75,000,000 tons of iron ore, 
of which 63,000,000 came from the Lake Superior region, 7,000,000 from 
Alabama, 1,000,000 from New York, and about 500,000 each from 
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wyoming; in 1918 
the total production was 69,000,000 tons, of which 60,000,000 came 
from the Lake Superior district, 6,000,000 from Alabama, 900,000 
from New York, 500,000 from Pennsylvania, and 400,000 each from 
Tennessee, Virginia, New Jersey and Wyoming. 

The following table shows the approximate reserves of iron ore in 
the principal districts of the United States: 

Table 14. — Iron-Ore Reserves op the United States in Gross Tons 1 

Millions of tons. 

Lake Superior District (hematite) 3,500 

Birmingham District (fossil hematite) 355 

Tennessee and Virginia (fossil hematite) 100 

Adirondack District (non-titaniferous magnetite) 40 

Adirondack District (titaniferous magnetite) 90 

Northern New Jersey and Southeastern New York (magnetite).. 15 

Southeastern Pennsylvania (magnetite) 4Q 

Appalachian region (magnetite) 50 

Northeastern Texas (limonite) 260 

Western United States (magnetite and hematite) 100 

Other Districts 150 

Total 4,700 

1 Kemp, J. F.: "The Iron-Ore Resources of the World," Stockholm, 1910 (with 
minor revisions). 



62 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

The greatest single iron and steel industry in the United States is that 
of the United States Steel Corporation, which controls the following iron- 
and steel-producing companies: Carnegie Steel Co., Illinois Steel Co., 
Indiana Steel Co., American Steel & Wire Co., American Sheet & Tin- 
plate Co., National Tube Co., The National Tube Co. of Ohio, Minnesota 
Steel Co., The Lorain Steel Co., Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co., 
and the Shelby Steel Tube Co., with a total of 124 blast furnaces, having 
an annual capacity of about 18,000,000 tons of pig iron. Most of the 
blast furnaces are in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Alabama. 

With the United States Steel Corporation is connected the Oliver Iron 
Mining Co., which produces about 43 per cent, of the iron ore mined 
annually in the Lake Superior district, this being equivalent to nearly 37 
per cent, of all the iron ore mined annually in the United States. The 
Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co. is the chief producer of iron ore in 
Alabama. 

Next in importance to the United States Steel Corporation as a 
producer of iron and steel is the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, with its 
subsidiaries, the Bethlehem Steel Co., Pennsylvania Steel Co., Maryland 
Steel Co., Jurugua Iron Co., Spanish-American Iron Co., and Bethlehem 
Iron Mines Co. 

The works of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation have a total pig iron- 
producing capacity of 3,060,000 tons annually from 23 blast furnaces. 
Seven of the furnaces are in South Bethlehem, Pa., seven in Steelton, Pa., 
four in Lebanon, Pa., three in Cornwall, Pa., and four in Sparrow's 
Point, Md. The Bethlehem Steel Corporation owns large iron-ore 
deposits in Cuba and Chile. Most of the ore consumed in its furnaces at 
present comes from Cuba, from the Lake Superior district, and from 
Cornwall, Pa. 

Third in importance of the iron- and steel-producing companies of 
the United States is the recently organized Midvale Steel & Ordnance 
Co., controlling Worth Brothers, Midvale Steel Co., Remington Arms 
Co., Cambria Steel Co., and others. The combined pig iron-producing 
capacity of the 14 blast furnaces controlled by the Midvale Steel & Ord- 
nance Co. is 2,420,000 tons of pig iron. Three of the blast furnaces 
are at Coatesville, Pa., and eleven are at Johnstown, Pa. This company 
owns important iron-ore deposits in Cuba and in the Lake Superior 
district. 

Four other large companies produce more than a million tons of pig 
iron annually, these being the Republic Iron & Steel Co., with an estimated 
total capacity from its 11 blastfurnaces in Ohio and Alabama of 1,430,000 
tons of pig iron, and of 2,500,000 tons of ore from its mines in the Lake 
Superior district and in Alabama; the Lackawanna Steel Co., with an 
annual capacity in 1918 from its nine blast furnaces at Lackawanna, N. Y., 
of 1,440,000 tons of pig iron; the Jones & Laughlin Co., of Pittsburgh, 






IRON 63 

with a capacity of 1,920,000 tons from 11 blast furnaces; and the McKin- 
ney Steel Co., with eight furnaces in Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania, 
and an annual capacity of 1,205,000 tons of pig iron. The last three 
companies named have extensive iron mines in the Lake Superior district. 

Important iron and steel companies producing somewhat less than a 
million tons of pig iron annually are: the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., 
with an annual capacity of 990,000 tons of pig iron from six blast fur- 
naces, all of which are at Youngstown, Ohio ; the recently organized Steel 
& Tube Co. of America, having six blast furnaces in and near Chicago, 
with an annual pig-iron capacity of 900,000 tons; the Colorado Fuel& 
Iron Co., an important western iron and steel producer, which has six 
blast furnaces near Pueblo, Colo., with an annual capacity of 625,000 
tons of pig iron, and has iron-ore mines in New Mexico, Wyoming, and 
Colorado; and the Schloss-Shefneld Steel & Iron Co. of Alabama, with 
seven blast furnaces and a pig-iron capacity of 530,000 tons. Many 
other plants with smaller capacity are scattered through eastern and 
central United States. So far as is known, practically the entire iron and 
steel business of the United States is in the hands of American capital. 

Germany. — The "minette" ore of the German Lorraine district before 
the war constituted by far the largest iron-ore reserve of Germany 
and is the chief source of present supply. Next in importance of the 
German ore reserves are the brown hematites occurring north of the 
Harz, and third and fourth in importance, respectively, are the deposits 
of the Lahn and Dill districts in the Rhineland, and those of Siegerland. 
All of these districts are in western and southwestern Germany and all 
of them, except Lorraine, are in the region lying east of the Rhine in 
Hanover, Westphalia, Hesse-Nassau, and Rhenish Prussia. 

The Lorraine district is on the French border and forms a part of the 
large ore field of Luxemburg and northern France. The deposits, of 
sedimentary origin and Jurassic age, comprise extensive beds of oolitic 
limonite varying in thickness up to 20 feet, interlayered with marl and 
limestone. Seven principal beds of ore are found within a thickness of 
sediments ranging from 75 to 150 feet, the most important being known 
as the Grey seam. The tonnage 1 of "minette" ore available in the Ger- 
man Lorraine district is estimated at 1,830 million 2 as compared with 300 
million in Luxemburg and 2,975 million 3 in northern France. The 
"minette" ores average 30 to 40 per cent, in metallic iron content and 
0.3 to 0.7 per cent, or more in phosphorus. 

The deposits of the Salzgitter and Ilsede districts north of the Harz. 
Mountains are beds of brown ironstone conglomerate with an average 

1 The ore reserves in this chapter are given in metric tons unless otherwise stated. 

2 Einecke, G., and Kohler, W.: " Iron-Ore Resources of the World," Stockholm, 
1910. 

3 Nicou, L., idem. 



64 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

thickness of 20^ to 30 feet, consisting of limonite pebbles in a clayey or 
calcareous cement. These deposits cover many square miles, the re- 
serves being estimated at 248 million tons. The ores contain 30 to 40 
per cent, of iron and average 0.7 to 0.8 per cent, in phosphorus. 

The ores of the Lahn and Dill region are mainly red hematites, that 
lie in an extensive sedimentary bed. They contain about 48 per cent, of 
iron, 0.2 to 0.3 per cent, phosphorus, and are high in silica. The reserves 
are estimated at about 135 million tons. 

In Siegerland the iron ores are mainly carbonate, carrying 38 to 40 
per cent, metallic iron and 6 to 9 per cent, manganese. They form 
irregular deposits abundantly scattered through the region, the available 
reserves being estimated at about 100 million tons. 

The total iron-ore reserves of Germany (not including those of Luxem- 
burg) actually available have been estimated at 2,540 million tons, and 
the probable further reserves at 1,067 million tons. Of these amounts, 
however, Lorraine has by far the largest part, so that the transfer of this 
province to France reduces Germany's available reserves to 28 per cent, 
of the pre-war figure, and her further probable reserves to one-half, 
altogether reducing her iron-ore resources to one-third of the former 
amount. 

As far as is known, the German iron and steel business is in the hands 
of German capitalists, who, besides, have important iron-ore holdings in 
France, Spain, Sweden, and elsewhere. Among the important iron- 
ore and pig-iron producing firms in Germany are Gutehoffnungshutte, 
de Wen del & Co., Krupp, Gebruder Stumm, Aschener Htitten Aktien 
Verein, Rombacher Hiittenwerke, Thyssen & Cie., and others. All of 
these firms had large ore reserves in the Lorraine district when the war 
began. 

France. — The iron ores of France are divided into three distinct 
groups: the "minette" ores of the Briey, Longwy, Crusnes, and Nancy 
districts; the Silurian ores in Normandy; and the vein deposits of the 
eastern Pyrenees. 

The "minette" ores of northern France form part of the great basin 
of " minette " ores of France, Luxemburg, and Germany already men- 
tioned. In 1913 they furnished about 91 per cent, of the total production 
of France. The iron ores of Normandy and Brittany are of sedimentary 
origin and are composed of hematite or carbonate or a mixture of both. 
The carbonate becomes more abundant with depth. The iron-ore de- 
posits of the eastern Pyrenees consist of both hematite and siderite and 
are of high grade, constituting the only considerable source of Bessemer 
ore in France. The iron content of the ores of Normandy and Brittany 
ranges from 30 per cent, to 50 per cent. ; that of the Pyrenees ores from 
51 per cent, to 57 per cent. The latter range includes calcined siderite. 

The production of iron ore from French Lorraine was about 19,500,000 



IRON 



65 



tons in 1913; that of Normandy and Brittany about 1,500,000 tons, 
and that of the eastern Pyrenees about 500,000, making a total pro- 
duction of more than 21,000,000 tons for France. 

The following table shows the relative output of iron ore from the 
different iron fields of France and Germany during the last three normal 
years before the war: 

Table 15. — Production of Iron Ore in France and Germany, 1911 to 1913 

Metric tons 



District 



1911 



1912 



1913 



German Lorraine 

Luxemburg 

French Lorraine, including Briey, Longwy 

and Nancy 

Germany, outside of Lorraine 

France, outside of Lorraine 



17,734,576 
6,059,797 

14,878,000 
6,968,000 
1,584,000 



20,050,245 
6,553,930 

17,235,125 

7,167,000 
1,925,000 



21,135,554 
7,331,050 

19,499,166 
7,472,000 
1,686,000 



The available reserves in the different districts of the French "min- 
ette" ore field are estimated as follows: 1 

Table 16. — Ore Reserves in French "Minette" Field 

Million tons 

Briey 2,000 

Crusnes 500 

Longwy 275 

Nancy 200 

Total 2,975 

The list of operating companies in France shows a considerable num- 
ber of German companies among the predominating French. German 
or probably German companies produced in 1913 six and a half million 
tons of iron ore, or one-third of the whole production. In the Normandy 
and Brittany region two German companies made 11 per cent, of the 
whole production; and in the eastern Pyrenees one German company 
produced 20 per cent. Altogether, German capital controlled over 
one-third of the iron and steel industry of France in 1913. The rest 
seems to have been in the hands of French capital. 

The most important iron-producing firms in the Lorraine field in 
recent years have been those of de Wendel & Co., GutehofTnungshutte, 
Societe des Hauts Fourneaux et Fonderies de Pont-a-Moussons, Societe 
des Forges et Acieries de la Marine et d'Homecourt, Societe Anonyme 
des Acieries de Longwy, Societe des Acieries de Micheville, and Societe 
des Mines d'Ammermont Dommery. The first two firms are chiefly 
German and have controlled lands not only in German Lorraine, but 
also in French Lorraine. Thus, the iron-ore lands of the Lorraine dis- 

1 Nicou, L,; "Iron Resources of the World," Stockholm, 1910. 
5 



66 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

trict will, even after the cessation of the territory to France, be owned 
largely by German-controlled firms. Politically, however, France will 
have control of the output. 

Great Britain. — The iron ores mined in Great Britain come chiefly 
from the Cleveland Hills in Yorkshire and from Lincolnshire, North- 
amptonshire, Cumberland, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Scotland, and 
Lancashire, in order of importance. More than one-third of the total 
production is derived from the Cleveland Hills. The ore from the Cleve- 
land Hills, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, and Scot- 
land is bedded oolitic siderite of Middle and Lower Jurassic age ; that from 
Cumberland and Lancashire is hematite, exceptionally low in phosphorus, 
found in pockets in Carboniferous and Silurian limestones; and that in 
Staffordshire is siderite of the " black band" and "clay band" varieties 
found in the Coal Measures. 

The following table shows the production of iron ore in the United 
Kingdom in 1915: 

Table 17. — Production of Iron Ore in the United Kingdom in 1915 

Long tons 

Cleveland Hills 4,746,293 

Lincolnshire 3,149,079 

Northamptonshire 2,517,150 

Cumberland 1,323,408 

Staffordshire 703,231 

Leicestershire 685, 137 

Scotland 375,241 

Lancashire 333,086 

Other Great Britain and Ireland 402,387 

Total 14,235,012 

A large part of the iron ore in Great Britain can not now be worked 
profitably, and much of the ore that was merchantable a few years ago 
could not now be worked, on account of increased cost of transportation, 
labor, and particularly of fuel. The actual reserves of ore of present 
merchantable grade are estimated at 1,300 million tons; the total reserves 
have been estimated by H. Louis at 39,500 million tons. 1 

In 1915 the United Kingdom produced 14,000,000 tons of iron ore. 
In the same year nearly 7,000,000 tons were imported, of which 4,000,000 
came from Spain and between one-half and one million from Algeria and 
Norway each, making a total of over 20,000,000 tons smelted in the United 
Kingdom. The total production of pig iron was nearly 9,000,000 tons, of 
which nearly 7,000,000 tons were produced in England, 1,000,000 tons in 
Scotland, and nearly 1,000,000 tons in Wales. Ireland produces no pig 
iron. The iron and steel industry of Great Britain, so far as information 
is available, is in the hands of British subjects. 

1 Louis, H.: " Iron-Ore Resources of the World," Stockholm, 1910. 



IRON 67 

Eckel 1 reviews the British iron-ore situation as follows: 

The position of Great Britain as regards iron-ore resources is peculiar — 
perhaps more curious than satisfactory. The matter may be summarized by 
saying that England has still several hundred million tons of high-grade ore which 
would be salable anywhere ; that she has in addition perhaps double that quantity 
of low-grade ore, workable because of its nearness to coal and markets; and 
that England, Scotland, and Wales have thousands of millions of tons of ore 
now unworkable, but which may be serviceable in the future provided that at 
that future date there is still any other good reason for making steel in Great 
Britain. This last limitation may not be palatable, but it is really the crux of 
the whole question, and it seems to have been overlooked by the British geologists 
who have discussed the subject. People do not make iron out of low-grade ores 
simply to use up the ores; and with an increasing coke cost and a narrowing 
export market it is a very serious question whether the bulk of these British 
carbonates will ever be used. The duration of the British steel industry will be 
fixed by its coal supply, and not by its supply of local ores; for so long as coke and 
markets justify it, ore can be imported to good advantage. If other conditions 
do not justify the importation of ore, they will certainly not justify the use of 
these hypothetical reserve tonnages. 

Spain. — Spain is rich in iron-ore reserves, but the iron and steel manu- 
facturing industry has had little development. The annual production 
of iron ore in Spain during the last years before the war amounted to about 
9,000,000 tons, of which more than 8,000,000 tons were exported. The 
consumption of iron ore by Spanish blast furnaces has been in the neigh- 
borhood of 800,000 tons annually. 

The principal iron ores of Spain lie in the northwestern part, in the 
provinces of Viscaya, Oviedo, Lugo, and Santander; in the northeastern 
part, in the provinces of Teruel and Guadalajara; and in the southeastern 
part, in the provinces of Granada, Almeria, Murcia, Sevilla, and Huelva. 

The iron ores of the Bilbao district of Viscaya are all of Bessemer grade, 
and for many years large amounts have been exported to England for 
use in Bessemer plants to supplement ores from the Cleveland and 
other districts of England. Because of their excellence, they have been 
in continuous demand, and the English iron and steel industry has de- 
pended to a considerable extent upon these and other high-grade ores of 
Spain. In more recent years, Germany has also become interested in the 
Bilbao iron fields, and in the last years before the war Germany took more 
than one-third of the total Spanish production, including large amounts of 
ore from southern Spain as well. Spanish interests own important de- 
posits in southeastern Spain and in the Bilbao district. 

Most of the ore of southeastern Spain is of high grade, being rich in 
iron and low in phosphorus. Nearly all of it is of Bessemer quality, and 
some is very low in phosphorus; the latter is exported extensively for use 
in the manufacture of low-phosphorus pig iron. The United States has 

1 Eckel, E. C: "Iron Ores, Their Occurrence, Valuation and Control," p. 320, 
1914, 



68 - POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

been largely dependent in past years upon Spain for this grade of ore, more 
than 100,000 tons being imported annually. 

Spain has a number of blast furnaces and steel plants, the principal 
ones being at Bilbao, in the Province of Viscaya. More than 300,000 
tons of pig iron are Produced annually in Viscaya, this being approxi- 
mately three-fourths of the total output of pig iron in Spain. 

European Russia. — In European Russia 1 the principal deposits of 
iron ore are distributed over four chief districts: Ural Mountains , central 
Russia, southern Russia and the Caucasus. 

In the Ural Mountains for the greater part the ores are associated with 
igneous rocks. The most important deposits are in the neighborhood of 
Gora Blagodat, in the northern Ural regions, and near Gora Mongnitnaja, 
in the southern Urals. The ores are mainly magnetite and limonite and 
come from an extremely large number of small mines. In central Russia, 
over widely scattered areas, are deposits of calcareous ores, clay ironstones, 
and bog ores. Many of the deposits are thin and can not be profitably 
worked. The only reserves in southern Russia of any importance are 
divided among three centers: Krivoi-Rog, the Donetz basin, and the 
Kertsch peninsula. By far the most important deposits are the magne- 
tite-hematite ores in the region of Krivoi-Rog. The ironstones of the 
Coal Measures in the Donetz basin and the limonite of the Kertsch pen- 
insula are of secondary importance. The mines of Krivoi-Rog are exten- 
sively worked, and their reserves are estimated at some 86 million tons 
of commercial ore. The mines are controlled mainly by the following 
three companies: the Briansk company; Krivoi-Rog Iron Ore Co.; and 
the Providence company. 

The following table shows the production of iron ore in different 
parts of Russia in 1912: 

Table 18. — Output of Iron Ore in Russia 

Long tons 

Southern Russia 5,679,000 

Ural 1,817,000 

Central Russia 286,000 

Other Russia and Siberia 6,000 

Total 7,788,000 

The ore reserves of Russia may be summarized by districts as follows : 
Iron-Ore Reserves in Russia 

Millions of tons 

Ural 282 

Central Russia 789 

Southern Russia 536 

Caucasus 14 

Total 1,621 

1 Bogdanowitsch, K.: "The Iron Resources of the World," Stockholm, 1910. 



IRON 69 

Eckel 1 reviews the iron-ore situation in Russia as follows: 

On their face the ore reserves noted seem satisfactory enough, and until 
the data are examined more critically it is difficult to explain why the relatively 
large furnishing capacity of the Moscow and other central Russian districts is so 
far out of line with the comparatively small ore production of that area. As a 
matter of fact, however, the large total ore reserves credited to central Russia 
are in reality less important than they seem, owing both to grade of ore and 
thinness of the ore bodies. From an international viewpoint the ore deposits of 
southern Russia are the ones which require most attention; for these are so 
located as to be of importance to foreign competitors, while the total reserve 
tonnage is high, and the grade of much of the ore is excellent. 

Actual available ore reserves of merchantable grade in Russia are 
estimated at 865 million tons. 

Before the Revolution the greater part of the Russian iron and steel 
industries was controlled by syndicates. 2 The oldest of these consisted 
of manufacturers of medium sheets (1902); then followed manufacturers 
of joists and U-iron (1903), axles and tires (1904), iron tubes (1906), 
rails ( 1 907) , and bar iron and hoops . These six syndicates were afterwards 
combined into one, officially styled the Association for the Sale of Prod- 
ucts of the Metallurgical Works of Russia, but generally known as "Pro- 
dameta," from its telegraphic address. There were separate syndicates 
for wire, wire nails, and roofing sheets. The "Prodameta" consisted, 
at last advices, of nineteen works, of which sixteen are in southern Rus- 
sia, and one each in Petrograd, Moscow, and the Ural region. The 
"Prodameta" expired at the end of 1915, but was provisionally pro- 
longed for one year, and again at the end of 1916 it was extended for a 
similar period. The aggregate capital of the eighteen works was 198,- 
400,000 roubles, and their net profit for 1915-16 was 76,200,000 roubles. 

Sweden. — The iron-ore fields of Sweden are among the most important 
in Europe and have for the last ten or fifteen years furnished a large out- 
put, which has gone mainly to England and Germany. A relatively 
small amount of iron ore is used in Swedish iron-smelting works. The 
iron mines of central Sweden have been actively worked since about the 
beginning of the twelfth century, whereas those of Swedish Lapland have 
been developed recently. At present about one-half the output of iron 
ore in Sweden comes from Swedish Lapland, and the other half from 
central Sweden. 

Swedish Lapland is estimated to have iron-ore reserves amounting to 
1,128 million tons. The ores are mostly magnetite associated with 
igneous rocks and show wide difference in phosphorus content. Certain 
deposits or parts of deposits are composed of ores that are moderately 

1 Eckel, E. C: "Iron Ores, Their Occurrence, Valuation and Control," 1914, 
p. 326. 

2 Ironmonger Metal Market Year-Book, London, 1918. 



70 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

low in phosphorus, whereas others are high enough to obtain a special 
bonus from German steel plants that produce high-phosphorus slag for 
fertilizer purposes. Practically all the ores of Swedish Lapland are 
exported. In recent years the total production has amounted to about 
3,500,000 tons annually. The principal mines are worked by the Trafi- 
kaktiebolaget Grangesberg Oxelosund, in which English and German 
capital is interested with the Swedish government. The Swedish govern- 
ment controls the output of the mines and receives a large sum in royalties 
on the ore produced. The ore deposits from which ore is being produced 
at present are Kiruna, Gellivare, and Tuolluvarra, the first two being 
operated by the firm mentioned above and the last being an independent 
operation. 

The ore reserves of central and southern Sweden are estimated at 
140 million tons, included in a great number of relatively small deposits. 
Most of the mines of central Sweden are controlled by small Swedish 
operators. Some of the mines, however, such as Blotberg, are to a large 
extent under German control, and the largest one, Grangesberg, is 
operated by the same firm that controls the deposits of Swedish Lapland. 
Some of the ores of central Sweden, such as those of Dannemora, Norberg, 
Strossa, and Stripa, are very low in phosphorus, and are used in the 
manufacture of special low-phosphorus iron; others, like those of Granges- 
berg and Blotberg, contain more than 1 per cent, of phosphorus. 

Austria-Hungary. — The iron ores of the former Austro-Hungarian 
Empire are mainly low-grade hydrous iron silicates that require roasting, 
large deposits of iron carbonate, and some limonite. The total prob- 
able ore reserves have been estimated at 940 million tons, of which 
about 560 million are very low grade. 

The principal sources from which the domestic iron ore used in the 
past in the Austro-Hungarian Empire has been obtained are the chamo- 
site-hematite deposits at Nucitz and elsewhere in Bohemia; the siderite 
beds at Erzberg, in Styria, estimated to contain more than 200 million 
tons of ore; the siderite-limonite deposits on the slopes of the Carpathians; 
and deposits of various ores in northern and central Bosnia. 

By far the largest of the deposits is that at Erzberg, owned and 
operated by the Oesterreichische Alpinen Montan Gesellschaft, presum- 
ably Austrian. The Bohemian deposits, also important, are largely 
under the control of the Prager Eisen Industrie Gesellschaft. The 
Carpathian deposits are largely controlled by local individuals and firms, 
among them Duke Philipp of Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha-Kohar. Thus the 
principal deposits have been largely under Austro-Hungarian control. 

As a result of the war and the disruption of the Austro-Hungarian 
Empire, the Bohemian deposits, estimated to contain 35,100,000 tons of 
high-grade ore and 221,800,000 tons of low-grade ore, will come under the 
control of Czechoslovakia, whereas the Bosnian ores, with an estimated 



IRON 71 

reserve of 21,500,000 tons, will go to Jugoslavia. Austria will retain 
control of the large Erzberg deposit in Styria, and the ores of the Carpa- 
thian region will continue under Hungarian control. 

Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco. — The iron ores of Morocco, Algeria, 
and Tunisia, in northern Africa, are mainly high-grade hematite. The 
reserve tonnage of Algeria and Tunisia is estimated by Nicou at 100 mil- 
lion to 150 million tons, and about 30 million or 40 million tons is re- 
ported in the Spanish territory of JRiff, Morocco. 

The deposits of Morocco and Algeria are nearly all near the north 
coast, and the ores are shipped from various small ports, such as Melilla, 
Benisaf, Arzeu, Algiers, Bougie, and Bona. The deposits of Tunisia are 
180 to 200 kilometers southwest of Tunis, the shipping port, with which 
they are connected by rail. 

The principal mines of El Riff, Morocco, are owned by the Sociedad 
Espariola de Minas de Riff. German interests, the "Netta Company," 
held a large concession, but since the war these interests are controlled 
by the Company of Bilbao. 

The North African deposits are important as a source of high-grade 
low-phosphorus ore for European blast furnaces. All of the ore produced 
is exported, the annual shipments amounting to about 1,500,000 tons. 

Cuba. — There are two principal groups of iron-ore deposits in Cuba — 
the magnetite and hematite ore on the south coast, and the brown ore, 
or limonite, on the north coast. All are near the eastern end of the island. 
The ores of Firmeza and Daiquiri, on the south coast, are mixed magnetite 
and hematite, averaging about 58 per cent, iron and 0.03 per cent, phos- 
phorus. They are associated with igneous rocks. A determination of 
tonnage is difficult because of the irregularity of the ore bodies, and esti- 
mates of reserves range from 5 million to 9 million tons. The brown 
ore of the north shore is hydrated brown hematite, a laterization product 
of serpentine. The dried ore averages about 46 per cent, iron, 0.01 per 
cent, phosphorus, and 1.7 per cent, chromium. The reserve tonnage, 
estimated as high as 3,000 million tons, is mainly contained in the 
three large deposits of Camaguey, Mayari, and Moa. 

The principal deposits of Cuba are owned and operated by the Beth- 
lehem Steel Co. Important undeveloped deposits are owned by the 
Buena Vista Iron Co. (Mid vale Steel & Ordnance Co.), United 
States Steel Corporation, Guantanamo Exploration Co., and Eastern 
Steel Co. 

Newfoundland. — The principal iron ores of Newfoundland are bedded 
oolitic hematites, which average 50 per cent, to 52 per cent, in metallic 
iron. The ore reserves of Newfoundland have been estimated as between 
3,250 million and 3,500 million tons, making them among the largest and 
by far the most compact iron-ore reserves in the world. The output of 
ore has been 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 tons annually, except during the war, 



72 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

when the production decreased. These deposits are important on ac- 
count of both their size and their situation. Ore can be placed readily 
in American or European ports at a cost far lower per unit of iron than 
any competitive ore, so that the market is practically unlimited. 

The ores have been mainly exported to Sydney, Nova Scotia, and to 
Philadelphia, while about 10 per cent, has gone to Holland (Germany). 
The phosphorus content is too high for normal economic basic open- 
hearth practice if the ores are used alone, but not too high for foundry 
use or for the basic Bessemer process developed in Europe. 

The Wabana iron-ore deposits are owned and mined by the Dominion 
Iron & Steel Co., and the Nova Scotia Steel & Coal Co., two Cana- 
dian firms. Both companies operate steel plants near Sydney, Cape 
Breton. 

Norway. — The principal iron ores of Norway are low-grade magnetite 
and specular hematite, much of which can profitably be concentrated. 
They occur in the northern part, north of the Arctic Circle. Small de- 
posits of high-grade ores, consisting mainly of magnetite lenses, occur in 
southern Norway. 

The Sydvaranger deposits, in the extreme north near the border of 
Finland, are estimated to contain 100 million tons of low-grade magnetite. 
The ore is treated in a large concentrating plant erected by a Norwegian 
company but controlled by Swedish and German capital. The con- 
centrates analyze 70 per cent, iron and 0.02 per cent, phosphorus. The 
Dunderland deposits on Rannenfjord, near the Arctic Circle, are esti- 
mated to contain 80 million tons of mixed low-grade specular hematite 
and magnetite. 

In 1914 Norway produced 652,273 tons of iron ore, of which seven- 
eighths came from the Sydvaranger deposit. 

Italy. — The most important iron mines in Italy are the hematite 
mines of the island of Elba, which have furnished between 500,000 and 
1,000,000 tons of ore annually in recent years. Ten or twelve large ore 
bodies are found in the eastern part of the island, all under control of the 
Elba Company, which has obtained a concession giving it exclusive 
iron-mining rights on the island. Important but as yet little developed 
magnetite deposits are found in the Aosta Valley, Piedmont, and limo- 
nite deposits are found on the island of Sardinia. These have furnished 
a very small output. Minor deposits of iron ore occur in Lombardy, 
in the Apennines of central Italy, and elsewhere. The total reserves of 
iron ore in Italy are estimated at about 25 million tons. 

Italy has several important iron-smelting works, among them being 
the Elba Company furnaces on the island of Elba, the Piombino furnaces 
at Piombino, on the mainland opposite Elba, and the Ilva furnaces at 
Bagnoli, near Naples. In addition there are some small plants in northern 
Italy. 



IRON 73 

Italy's iron-ore deposits and iron manufactures are controlled by 
commercial organizations, mainly Italian, but in part English. The 
Italian government exercises control over the ore deposits by granting 
concessions for comparatively short terms. 

Agreements made among the Italian manufacturers for the rational 
division of work have led to the formation of a syndicate of the following 
firms: Ilva, Elba, Siderurgica di Savona, Metallurgica di Lestre, Ferriere 
Italiane, and the Piombino Steel Works. These firms undertook to 
maintain the syndicate for eleven years, dating from July, 1911. The 
affairs of the organization were directed by the Ilva Company. "In 
1916 the constituent companies renewed their agreement up to the year 
1930, but the Ilva Company ceased to direct the affairs of the Syndicate, 
and *the relations between the Syndicate and the German Stahlwerks 
Verband were abrogated and replaced by Anglo-Italian relationships." 1 

A further organization was made called the "Societa Ferro ed Ac- 
ciaio," a combination of steel works. 

Italy is important as a producer of iron ore and as a manufacturer of 
iron products. She has been able to supply her own needs in iron ore 
for many years and at the present rate can continue to do so for prob- 
ably twenty years longer. There appears to be no tendency toward 
expansion into other fields to control foreign ore deposits. 

Italy produced 593,000 tons of iron ore in 1913; 669,000 tons in 
1915; and 927,000 tons in 1916. In 1915, 408,000 tons of pig iron 
were produced, and 87,000 tons were imported. 

Greece. — Chromiferousiron ores are found in eastern Greece and adja- 
cent islands. They contain 46 to 52 per cent, iron, 2 to 3 per cent, chro- 
mium, and about 0.10 to 1.00 per cent, nickel and cobalt. The normal 
annual production of iron ore in Greece has been in the neighborhood of 
400,000 tons. 

Canada. — Small iron-ore deposits occur in New Brunswick and 
Nova Scotia. In Ontario there are two principal iron-ore districts — 
the Atikokan and the Michipicotan ranges. The ore in the former is 
magnetite, and in the latter hematite and siderite with some limonite. 
The ores of western British Columbia are largely magnetite. The prin- 
cipal deposits are on Texada and Vancouver islands, where the ore is of 
excellent grade, averaging 63 per cent, iron, 0.02 per cent, phosphorus 
and 4 to 10 per cent, silica. Low-grade magnetite ore is found at the 
Moose Mountain mine, Ontario, and is being concentrated. 

There are a number of blast furnaces in Canada, among them being 
those of the Dominion Iron & Steel Co., Sydney; the Nova Scotia Steel 
& Coal Co., Sydney Mines, and the Londonderry Iron & Mining Co., 
Londonderry, all of which use ores from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia; 
the Algoma Steel Corporation, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario; the Steel Com- 

1 Ironmonger Metal Market Year Book, 1918. 



74 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

pany of Canada, Hamilton, Ontario; the Canadian Furnace Co., Port Col- 
borne, Ontario; the Canada Iron Foundries, Midland, Ontario; the Stan- 
dard Iron Co., Deseronto and Parry Sound, Ontario; and the Atikokan 
Iron Co., Port Arthur, Ontario, which use largely Lake ores of the 
United States and Canada. The Moose Mountain Co., of Sellwood, 
Ontario, has a magnetic concentrating and briquetting plant using ore 
from the Moose Mountain mine. In May, 1920, the British Empire 
Steel Corporation, the second largest in the world, was formed by the 
merger of nine steel, coal, ship-building and transportation companies. 

In 1912 Canada produced 156,000 tons of iron ore, and made 906,- 
000 tons of pig iron. 1 In 1918 she made 1,066,071 tons of pig iron. The 
iron mines of Canada are largely of Canadian and partly of American 
ownership. 

China and Manchuria. — Little information is available on the extent 
of the iron-ore deposits of the Chinese Empire. The principal producing 
area is that of Tayeh, south of Yangtse River in the Province of Hupeh, 
where a series of ore bodies, consisting of mixed hematite and magnetite, 
occurs along the contact of limestone and intrusive syenite. The 
deposits are estimated to contain about 40 million tons of ore. 2 The 
Han-Yeh-Ping Iron & Steel Co., largely controlled in Japan, owns these 
deposits and the Han Yang steel plant near Hankow. Iron ore similar 
to that of Tayeh is reported to occur farther down the Yangtse at Tung- 
ling, in the Province of Ngan-whei, and also along the coast near Amoy, 
Province of Fukien. The deposits near Amoy are said to contain about 
25 million tons. 

Of considerable importance are the mixed hematite and magnetite 
ores of Chin-ling-chen, near Kiaochow, Shantung Province. A series of 
ore bodies, some of them 100 feet in width, are said to occur along 
a contact zone two kilometers in length. 3 The deposits were ex- 
ploited by Germans and are being developed by Japanese. 

Sedimentary beds of oolitic ore of some extent are reported in the 
provinces of Chih-li and Kiang-si, but they are of low grade. 

Bedded siderite ores similar to the Coal Measures ores of England 
have been mined for many years in Shan-si Province and smelted in 
native furnaces. In Hunan Province, also, this type of ore is mined. 

The principal iron ores of Manchuria are magnetites that occur as a 
series of deposits in a northwest-southeast belt south and southeast of 
Mukden, in southern Manchuria. They are interbedded with schist, 
gneiss, and porphyry. In this belt are the An-shan-chang deposits that 
are now being developed by Japanese interests affiliated with the South 

1 Board of Trade, "Reports on Iron and Steel," London, 1905-1918. 
? Bain, H. F.: "Notes on Iron-Ore Resources of China," Trans. Am. Inst. Min. 
Eng., 1918. 

3 Koert, W.: "Iron-Ore Resources of the World," Stockholm, 1910. 



IRON 75 

Manchurian Railway, and the Miaor-kow deposits operated by a Sino- 
Japanese company, the Pen-hsi-hu Coal & Iron Co., Ltd. The southern 
Manchuria magnetite belt is reported to contain reserves amounting to 
about 500 million tons. 1 Much of the ore is of low grade/ 

India. — Iron ores of four types are found in India 2 : (1) lenses of 
specular .hematite with some magnetite, occurring in quartz-hematite 
and quartz-magnetite schist of the Dharwar series and other older rocks ; 
(2) granules of magnetite and hematite scattered through granite and 
schist; (3) clay ironstones in the Coal Measures of Bengal; and (4) 
lateritic ores. 

The hematite-magnetite lenses interlayered with iron-bearing schists 
are the most important of the Indian ores, although it is only recently 
that they have been exploited. The Tata Iron & Steel Co. owns the 
principal deposits of this type, including Mayurbhanj, in Bengal, where 
mining is being conducted at present, and the large undeveloped deposits 
of the Raipur district, Central Provinces. Important deposits of this 
type are also found in southern India. 

Magnetite and hematite derived from the disintegration of schist 
and granite are now being used by the Bengal Iron & Steel Co., of Barakar. 
They consist of surface accumulations of iron sands and are found in 
various parts of India. Clay ironstones scattered through shales were 
formerly used by the Bengal Iron & Steel Co., but its supply of these is 
exhausted. Lateritic iron ores lying at the surface are widespread but 
undeveloped. 

The principal iron and steel company of India is that of Tata,,& Sons, 
an Indian firm. Its plant, which has been mining since 1912, is at Sakchi, 
in Bengal, and comprises three blast furnaces with a total monthly 
capacity of 24,000 tons of pig iron. There are also extensive coke ovens, 
open-hearth furnaces, and steel mills. Many additions are being planned. 
The Bengal Iron & Steel Co., which has been in operation for thirty years, 
has three small blast furnaces at Barakar, with a monthly capacity of 
12,000 tons. A steel mill and rolling mill built by this company have been 
abandoned. 

Several new developments are being planned in the Indian 
steel industry, among them being the Indian Iron & Steel Co., an 
English firm, which is building a plant near Asanol on the East Indian 
Railway. 

The production of iron ores for 1915 was 390,270 tons, the production 
of iron and steel for 1914 was 504,564 tons and for 1915 to 1916 it was 
584,775 tons. Total imports of iron and steel, 1914 to 1915, amounted 
to 698,635 tons, and 1915 to 1916, to 424,597 tons. 

1 Wang, C. F.: "Coal and Iron Deposits of the Pen-hsi-hu District, Manchuria," 
Trans. Am. Inst. Min. Eng., 1918. 

2 de la Touche, P. E.: "Iron-Ore Resources of the World," Stockholm, 1910. 



76 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Japan and Korea. — The iron ore used in Japanese furnaces is obtained 
in part from domestic mines and in part from Korean, Manchurian, and 
Chinese mines. The iron ore produced in Japan comes mainly from the 
Kamaishi group of deposits in the northern part of the island of Honshu. 
These mines yield more than one-half of the total annual production 
of iron ore in Japan, the remainder coming mainly from the Sennin and 
Kuriki mines, also in the northern part of Honshu; the Abuta and other 
bog ore deposits in Hokkaido, and the black sand deposits of Chugoku, 
in southern Honshu. The Kamaishi, Sennin, and Kuriki deposits con- 
sist of magnetite and hematite associated with sedimentary rocks near 
igneous intrusions. The iron-ore reserves of Japan are estimated by 
Inouye 1 at' about 60 million tons. 

The Korean iron ores used in Japan have come mainly from the surficial 
limonite deposits of Hoang-hai-do, about 100 miles northwest of Seoul, 
which have been actively mined for 10 years or more. Recently Japanese- 
controlled blast furnaces have been established at Ken-ji-pho, Korea, 
which use ore from the Ken-ji-pho iron mine, situated in the same region 
as the Hoang-hai-do mines. The pig iron produced by this plant is sent 
to Japan for use in Japanese steel plants. 

Chinese iron ore used in Japan has been obtained from the Tayeh 
mines of Hupeh Province. ■ A part of the ore from these mines goes 
directly to Japan, and a part goes to the Han- Yang furnaces, near Han- 
kow, to be manufactured into pig-iron and steel products which also go 
to Japan. The Han-Yeh-Ping Iron & Steel Co., which owns both the 
Tayeh mines and the Han- Yang furnaces, is a Chinese concern, the capital 
of which is at present controlled largely by Japanese banking firms. 

Of considerable interest at the present time is the development by 
Japanese of the Chin-ling-chen iron-ore deposits on the peninsula of 
Kiaochow, Shantung Province. These deposits were being exploited by 
the Germans just before the war and have recently been taken over 1 by the 
Japanese, who are continuing development. 

Two important Japanese-controlled iron and steel manufacturing 
projects are at present being developed in Manchuria. The older of 
these is the plant of the Pen-hsi-hu Colliery & Mining Co. at Pen-hsi-hu, 
southeast of Mukden, where pig iron is being manufactured from ore 
obtained from the neighboring Miaor-kou magnetite mines. The pig 
iron is being sent to Japan. The other Manchurian enterprise is the 
An-shan-chang iron and steel works at Sha-ho-kou, south of Mukden. 
The ore is derived from the An-shan-chang iron mines and the pig iron 
and steel products which it is later planned to manufacture are to be sent 
to Japan. It is also planned to send Manchurian ore to Japan. 

On page 77 are shown the production and importation of iron ore 
into Japan in recent years : 

1 Inouye, K.: "Iron-Ore Resources of the World," Stockholm, 1910. 



IRON 



77 



Table 19. — Production and Importation of Iron Ore into Japan, 1914 to 1916 

(Metric tons) 





Production 


Importation from 


Total includ- 


Year 


Korea 


China 


ing other 
countries 


1914 
1915 
1916 


136,385 
136,121 
158,815 


163,747 
204,101 
192,225 


300,305 
311,310 

282,149 


465,754 
516,132 
474,955 



A considerable quantity of pig iron is imported into Japan from 
British India, Great Britain, and other countries. 

The principal iron-smelting works in Japan are as follows : Imperial 
Steel Works, Yawata; Kamaishi Iron Works, Kamaishi; Wanishi Iron 
Works, Tanburi; Sennin Iron Works, Waka; Kuriki Iron Works, Kisen. 
All are controlled by Japanese, the first being the Japanese government 
works. 

Poland. — In Poland the chief deposits of iron ore are the limonite 
deposits in the Vistula district, carrying 22 to 50 per cent. iron. The 
production in 1912 was 289,000 long tons. The resources are estimated 
at 300 million to 800 million tons. 

Belgium. — Belgium's production of iron ore in recent years has 
amounted to about 150,000 tons annually, of which more than half was 
derived from the "minette" ore beds in the southeastern part along the 
French border, and the remainder came in part from beds of oolitic hem- 
atite of Devonian age in the Namur and Liege basins and in part from 
bog-ore deposits in the northern part. In the past the largest production 
has come from the Namur basin, and there are still large reserves of these 
oolitic hematite ores. The total iron-ore reserves of Belgium are esti- 
mated to be about 62,500,000 tons. 

The iron ore produced in Belgium supplies only a very small part of 
the requirements for the Belgian iron and steel industry, most of the 
ore being imported from France. 

Portugal. — -The largest deposits of iron ore in Portugal are those of 
Moncorvo, in the northeastern part. The ore is a bedded sedimentary 
deposit of low grade and the estimated reserve is 45 million tons. Small 
deposits of magnetite and brown hematite are found in the southern part 
in the Province of Alemtejo. Portugal produced 48,342 tons of iron ore 
in 1913. 

Turkey and Bulgaria. — Minor deposits of magnetite and hematite 
occur in Bulgaria and former European Turkey, and in western Asia 
Minor several important ore bodies are known. 1 The largest of these 

1 Edwards, G. M.: "Notes on Mines in the Ottoman Empire," Trans. Inst. Min. 
Met., vol. 23, 1913-14. 



78 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

deposits occurs in the Berut Hills, 90 miles northwest of the Gulf of Alex- 
andretta. It is reported to be capable of producing 300,000 tons annually. 

Other important deposits are found near Ayazmat, on the mainland 
opposite the island of Mitylene, and near Tireboli and Trebizond, on the 
Black Sea. The only producing mine is near Ayazmat. 

Chile. — Scattered iron-ore deposits occur in Chile in the coastal 
mountain region; the principal deposits extend a distance of about 150 
miles parallel to the coast, some of them being north and some south of 
Coquimbo. The ore bodies are within 10 to 40 miles of the coast. Most 
of them are enclosed as lenses in granitic rocks; a few are in sedimentary 
rocks near the contact of igneous rocks. 

Furnaces and a steel plant were erected by a French syndicate 10 
to 15 years ago in southern Chile. The plant ran only a few months, 
there being apparently no market for the product. The iron ore was 
obtained from the Tofo deposit, and green wood was used for fuel. 

Of the Chilean deposits, the largest, Algarrobo, is owned by a joint 
Dutch-German syndicate controlled by Wm. H. Muller & Co., and Gute- 
hoffnungshutte. Tofo, next in size to Algarrobo, is under lease to the 
Bethlehem Steel Co. Most of the other deposits are owned by Chil- 
eans. The tonnage of Chilean ore controlled by different nationalities 
is approximately as follows: 

Millions of tons 
(long tons) 

German 50 

American 40 

Chilean (in part English) 50 

Total 140 

Iron ore was mined at Tofo during 1914, 1915, and 1916, and exported 
to the United States. In 1915 about 153,000 tons were shipped. Dur- 
ing the war the mining practically ceased. 

Brazil. — The iron-ore deposits of Minas Geraes, Brazil, are among the 
most important in the world. The ore bodies, which as yet are practi- 
cally undeveloped, he in an area roughly 100 miles square, the center of 
which is 225 miles in a direct line north of Rio de Janeiro. The principal 
ores are hematite and are associated as beds and lenses with a laminated 
ferruginous quart zite known as "itabirite" that covers many square 
miles. The interlayered beds and lenses of ore are high grade, carrying 
up to 69 or 70 per cent, of metallic iron and averaging between 0.003 
and 0.025 per cent, phosphorus. Nearly all ores of this type are of 
Bessemer or low-phosphorus grade. There are also large areas of 
recently formed surface ores consisting of mixed hematite and limonite 
moderately high in phosphorus; these average 55 to 65 per cent, in 
metallic iron. 

On account of the distance from the coast and high cost of transpor- 



IRON 



79 



tation, only the high-grade bedded ores are considered at present as 
available. The Central Railroad of Brazil runs through the iron-ore 
district to the port of Rio, 310 miles from the southern edge of the district, 
but unfortunately, on account of heavy grades, it can not be used for 
extensive transportation of iron ores. As workable bodies of coal suita- 
ble for iron manufacture are not known to exist in Brazil, the Minas 
Geraes deposits have up to the present produced little ore. 

The principal iron-ore deposits of Minas Geraes are owned by the 
Itabria Iron Ore Co., the St. John del Rey Gold Mining Co., Ltd., the 
Brazilian Iron & Steel Co., and the Compania Metallurgica, the first 
two being English, the third American, and the fourth Brazilian. The 
Deutsch-Luxemburgisches Bergwerks und Hutten Aktiengesellschaft 
(German) , the Societe Anonyme Franco-Bresiliene (French) , Jules Bern- 
ard, Mathiew Goudchaux et Cie (French), the Minas Geraes Iron Syn- 
dicate (American), and others, own local deposits. The following table 
shows approximately the tonnage of ore controlled by each nationality : 



Table 20.- 


— Beazilian Iron Ore Controlled by 


Different Nationalities 








Millions of tons 
(long tons) 




Bessemer 


Non-Bessemer 


English 


145 

160 

21 

40 

44 


300 


American 


420 


French 


15 


German 


10 


Brazilian .... 


400 










Total 


410 


1,145 





Iron ores similar to those of Minas Geraes, and magnetite deposits 
of minor importance are reported in other parts of Brazil. 

Mexico. — 'Mexico has important deposits of iron ore in the States of 
Lower California, Coahuila, Durango, Guerrero, Michoacan, and Oaxaca. 
The largest iron and steel making plant in Mexico is that of the Compania 
de Aciero y Fierro de Monterey, State of Nuevo Leon, operated by 
Spanish capital. This plant produces between 50,000 and 100,000 tons 
of pig iron yearly. Ore is obtained from Coahuila, and coke from nearby 
coal fields. At Durango is a charcoal furnace, which has been idle for 
many years. It is owned by the Durango Iron& Steel Co. (American). 
Small iron-making operations exist in Hidalgo, Puebla, Vera Cruz and 
Oaxaca. The best known of the Mexican iron-ore deposits is that of 
Iron Mountain (Cerro de Mercado), near Durango City, a large body of 
magnetite. In Lower California there are important deposits of iron ore 
at several localities. They are owned by the International Development 



80 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Co., an American firm with headquarters at Los Angeles, Calif ornia. The 
deposits in Guerrero, Michoacan and Oaxaca are reported to be extensive. 

South Africa. — Various deposits of low-grade iron ore are found in 
South Africa. In Transvaal there is siliceous sedimentary hematite 
and magnetite in ferruginous schists of different ages, titaniferous magne- 
tite associated with basic igneous rocks, and local clay-band ore; and 
in both Cape Colony and Transvaal there are lateritic surface ores. 
A 15-ton blast furnace has been built within the last year or two near 
Pretoria by the Pretoria Iron Mines Co., Ltd., for the purpose of manu- 
facturing pig iron from local ores. This is the first attempt to establish 
an iron industry in South Africa. 

Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. — In Australia and New Zea- 
land are some important iron-ore deposits, but only a few are developed. 
Most of the iron ore mined in Australia has been used for flux in copper, 
lead, zinc, and other smelting plants; a small amount has been used in 
the two local iron and steel works — that of the Broken Hill Proprietary 
Co., at Newcastle, New South Wales, and that of the Eskbank Iron Works 
at Lithgow, about 75 miles west of Sydney, New South Wales. The 
former is the more important, having in operation at the present time two 
blast furnaces as well as steel furnaces, rail mill, and plate mill. 

Among the important Australian iron-ore deposits are the hematite 
ores of Coombing Park, near Carcoar, and of Cadia, near Millthorpe, 
both in New South Wales, estimated to contain reserves of 42 million 
tons of ore; the hematite deposits of the Murchison district, about 400 
miles northeast of Perth, western Australia, where one single deposit — 
that of Wilgi Mia — has been estimated to contain more than 25 million 
tons; the Iron Monarch manganiferous iron-ore deposit, estimated to 
contain 20 million tons of ore, and the neighboring Iron Knob hematite 
deposit of one million tons, both about 40 miles from Port Augusta, at 
the head of Spencer Bay, South Australia; and the hematite deposits of 
Mt. Leviathan, estimated at 10 million tons, located about 250 miles from 
Normanton, on the Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland. Numerous smaller 
and less important ore bodies are found in all the provinces. 

The Coombing Park ores have been used at the Eskbank Iron Works, 
90,200 tons being produced in 1916. The ore averages about 55 per cent, 
iron. The Iron Monarch deposit is being developed by the Broken 
Hills Proprietary Co., and the ore is to be used in the furnaces at 
Newcastle. 

An important iron-ore deposit, estimated to contain 23 million tons 
of minable ore, is reported to occur on Blythe River, in the northwestern 
part of Tasmania, about 6)^ miles from the coast. There have been 
rumors recently of a possible exploitation of this deposit. 

In New Zealand large deposits of limonite occur in the Nelson dis- 
trict, in the northern part of South Island. The principal group of 



IRON 



81 



deposits, known as Parapara, is estimated to contain about 64 million 
tons. Titaniferous magnetite sands, measurable in millions of tons, are 
reported to occur in the southwestern part of North Island near New 
Plymouth. 

POSITION OF LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS 

General Statement. — The world's chief iron- and steel-producing 
countries are, in the order of their importance : United States, Germany, 
Great Britain, Prance, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Belgium. The 
annual pig-iron production of these countries ranged in 1913 from 2,300,- 
000 tons in Belgium to 30,900,000 tons in the United States. The 
normal consumption of iron ore by these countries in the last years 
preceding the war and their recent maximum annual production are 
given below: 



Table 21. — Maximum Annual Output and Normal Consumption op Iron Ore 
by Chief Iron- and Steel-Making Countries 



Countries 



Consumption 
(long tons) 



Production 
(long tons) 



United States 

Germany 

Great Britain 

France 

Russia 

Belgium 

Austria- Hungary 

1 Includes production of Luxemburg. 



62,000,000 

40,600,000 

19,000,000 

12,300,000 

8,900,000 

6,800,000 

5,200,000 



75,288,851 
1 33,987,112 
15,997,328 
21,572,835 

9,362,746 
164,734 

5,233,055 



The consumption figures represent metallic iron consumed in terms 
of iron ore and are obtained on the basis of production and imports of 
iron ore, and imports of pig iron and crude iron and steel products. 
Exports of iron ore, pig iron, and crude iron and steel products are not 
considered as forming part of the countries' consumption. 

A comparison of the consumption and production indicates that the 
United States, France, Russia and Austria-Hungary were self-supporting 
as far as raw materials for their iron and steel industry were concerned. 
Great Britain and Germany are dependent for a small percentage of their 
requirements upon foreign countries. Belgium produces a very small 
percentage of her consumption . of iron ore, being almost entirely de- 
pendent upon foreign sources, mainly France and Germany, for her 
iron-ore requirements. 

In several countries that produce much iron ore the iron and steel 



82 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



industry is still in its infancy. The iron ore from these countries is 
nearly all exported to the large iron and steel making countries. The 
following table shows the recent maximum annual production and normal 
annual consumption in some of these: 

Table 22. — Maximum Annual Output and Normal Consumption op Iron Orb 

in Several Countries 



Countries 


Consumption 
(long tons) 


Production 
(long tons) 


Spain 


1,000,000 
700,000 


9,705,963 
6,878,318 
1,585,431 
1,433,858 
1,349,000 


Sweden 


Cuba 


Newfoundland 




North Africa 









Thus, considerable quantities of iron ore are available from these 
countries for consumption in countries that have to import iron ore and 
iron products. 

There is shown below the pig-iron and steel production in 1913 of the 
world's principal iron and steel manufacturing countries. 



Table 23. — Pig-Iron and Steel Output op the Chief Producing Countries, 

1913 



Countries 



Pig iron 
(long tons) 



Steel 
(long tons) 



United States . . . 

Germany 

Great Britain . . . 

France 

Russia 

Austria- Hungary 

Belgium 

Canada 

Sweden 

Spain 

Italy 

Japan 



30,966,152 

19,004,022 

10,481,917 

5,227,378 

4,474,757 

2,335,170 

2,318,767 

1,015,118 

728,103 

418,061 

420,011 

236,491 



31,300,874 

18,659,000 

7,664,000 

4,349,000 

4,750,000 

2,641,000 

2,475,000 

1,044,000 

574,000 

359,000 

897,000 

251,000 



United States. — The United States has for many years had in the Lake 
Superior district the chief iron-ore producing fields in the world. In 
recent years the Lake Superior district has furnished more than two- 
fifths of the world's output of iron ore. In 1917, 75,288,851 gross tons 
of iron ore, 38,647,397 gross tons of pig iron, and 45,060,607 gross tons 
of steel were produced in the United States, as compared with 61,980,437 



IRON 83 

tons of iron ore, 30,966,152 tons of pig iron, and 31,300,874 tons of steel 
in 1913. The imports of iron ore in 1917 amounted to 971,663 tons and of 
crude forms of iron and steel to 306,189 tons, as compared with 2,594,770 
tons of iron ore and 250,592 tons of crude iron and steel products imported 
in 1913. The exports of iron ore from the United States in 1917 
amounted to 1,132,313 tons and of crude forms of iron and steel to 4,744 ; - 
527 tons, as compared with 1,042,151 tons of iron ore and 1,278,131 tons 
of crude forms of iron and steel exported in 1913. 

These figures indicate that in normal times the United States con- 
sumes about 85 per cent, of the domestic output of iron ore, in the manu- 
facture of finished iron and steel products. Fifteen per cent, is exported 
either as iron ore, or as crude iron and steel products which are manu- 
factured into finished products in other countries. Of the finished iron 
and steel products made in this country the United States itself consumes 
the larger part. However, large quantities of iron and steel articles and 
machinery are exported to other countries as well. 

The iron ore exported from this country is mainly Lake ore, which 
goes to Canadian furnaces. The iron ore imported is largely Cuban ore, 
which is used at the Sparrow's Point plant of the Bethlehem Steel Corpora- 
tion. This plant has facilities for using only ore arriving by boat and 
has been running almost entirely on foreign ores. The Cuban iron mines 
are largely under the control of this company, and an increased produc- 
tion is expected from them in the future. 

The Bethlehem Steel Corporation has also developed an extensive 
iron-ore deposit in Chile, from which some shipments were made during 
the first years of the World War. It has been allowed to remain idle 
recently on account of lack of shipping facilities. Large shipments are 
expected from Chile in the future. 

A considerable amount of Swedish ore has been imported in recent 
years by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, to supplement its shipments 
of Cuban ore. During the war, however, the Trafikaktiebolaget Gran- 
gesberg Oxelosund decreased its ore shipments and finally refused 
altogether to export ore to the United States. These shipments re- 
commenced soon after the cessation of hostilities in Europe. 

Certain high-grade low-phosphorus iron ores which are not present 
in the United States in sufficient quantity to supply domestic needs 
have been imported in past years from Spain, North Africa, and to a 
small extent from Sweden. During the war, when the shortage of 
shipping facilities necessitated combing this country for supplies of 
high-grade low-phosphorus ores, it was shown that the United States is 
more or less dependent upon foreign sources for such ores. 

There are a number of mines in the United States, such as the Lyon 
Mountain mine in New York, and the Cranberry mine in North Carolina, 
which produce limited amounts of high-grade low-phosphorus ore. Sev- 



84 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

eral mines on the Menominee Range, Michigan, produce a very siliceous 
low-phosphorus ore that can be used to supplement in part the high- 
grade ores. A considerable quantity of low-phosphorus pyrite residue 
from sulphuric acid and fertilizer plants is also used for making low- 
phosphorus iron. Much of the pyrite yielding this residue is imported 
from Spain, some of it is of domestic origin, and some of it comes from 
Canada. Altogether, the United States supplies about 60 per cent, of 
the material required for the manufacture of its normal output of low- 
phosphorus pig iron. 

Certain developments in progress make it probable that a greater 
percentage of ore used for this purpose can be supplied from domestic 
mines. The principal enterprise is one that plans to concentrate the 
siliceous magnetite ore of the eastern Mesabi Range. Experiments have 
yielded a high-grade product and work on a commercial scale is planned. 

The reserves of the ordinary grades of iron ore in the United States 
are large, and no shortage of such ore is anticipated for many years. They 
are easily capable of taking care of a considerably increased consumption. 
The largest reserves are in the Lake Superior district and in the southeast- 
ern states, but large untouched reserves occur in the western states as 
well. The iron ores in the Pacific Coast region have remained unde- 
veloped from the lack of sufficient demand for pig iron and crude forms 
of iron and steel on the Pacific Coast. Undoubtedly this demand will in- 
crease in the future, and iron and steel industries will be established there. 

The reserves of ore in the Lake Superior district are large. The grade 
of ore mined, however, has been gradually getting lower, and it is possible 
that before many years Lake iron ores averaging considerably below 50 
per cent, will have to be utilized. At present the average grade of the 
ores mined in the Lake Superior district is about 51 per cent. 

It is clear that there is not likely to be a shortage of the ordinary 
grades of iron ore in the United States. Reserves of high-grade ores, 
however, are being gradually depleted, and high-grade ores from foreign 
countries will find an increasingly ready market. American capital 
controls a large reserve of high-grade iron ore in Brazil. Much of the 
Brazilian ore averages about 68 per cent, in metallic iron and is very low 
in phosphorus, making it an exceedingly desirable raw material for the 
manufacture of special iron and for mixing with lower-grade domestic ores. 
Doubtless much of the Brazilian ore will go to Europe, as British and 
other foreign holdings of this ore are extensive. However, it is highly 
desirable that a certain proportion of the ore should be diverted to 
American furnaces. 

Germany.- — The annual consumption of iron ore in Germany just 
before the war was about 40 million tons, and the maximum annual 
output at this time, including more than 7 million tons from Luxemburg, 
was only about 34 million long tons. In order to supply German fur- 



IRON 85 

naces it was necessary, therefore, to import more than 6 million tons 
of iron ore from foreign countries. More than 58 per cent, of the iron 
ore mined in Germany has come from the Lorraine district. The pro- 
duction from German iron mines outside of the Lorraine district amounted 
to 6,906,809 tons in 1913. The production of pig iron during that year 
was 19,004,022 tons. 

The pre-war imports of iron ore into Germany were large, amounting 
to nearly 14 million tons in 1913; against these the exports were some- 
what more than 2 million tons. 

The iron ore imported from Sweden is mainly high-phosphorus ore 
from the mines of Swedish Lapland and central Sweden. This is es- 
pecially adapted to the manufacture of pig iron for the Thomas process, 
much used in Germany. Most of the ores from the Lorraine district 
are slightly too low in phosphorus to be suitable for the Thomas process; 
and Swedish high-phosphorus ores, phosphate rock, and phosphatic 
slags are in places mixed with Lorraine ore to raise the phosphorus 
content. 

A considerable amount of low-phosphorus iron ore used in the manu- 
facture of low-phosphorus pig iron is also imported from Sweden, and a 
larger amount of this ore is imported from Spain. This material is 
used in Germany for the manufacture of pig iron to be used in making 
acid open-hearth steel. 

Since Germany has lost the Lorraine iron fields, the remaining domestic 
iron mines will be able to supply less than 20 per cent, of the requirements 
of iron ore for the German furnaces. However, it is likely that Germany 
will continue to receive most of her supplies from the Lorraine fields, in 
which German holdings at present predominate over French holdings and 
will probably continue to predominate. 

Great Britain. — The United Kingdom has produced from 10 to 14 
per cent, of the iron and steel of the world annually for the past 10 years 
or more, and apparently has consumed in normal times about 50 per cent, 
of the product and exported 50 per cent., mainly to British possessions. 
During the war about 75 per cent, of the British production was consumed 
at home and 25 per cent, was exported, largely to France. Fifty per cent, 
of the iron and steel products manufactured has been obtained from ores 
mined in Great Britain, and 50 per cent, from imported ores. Thus, 
normally, the domestic yield of iron ore just about equals the domestic 
demand for iron, whereas during the war the domestic demand for iron 
was greater than the domestic supply of ore. Great Britain depends upon 
outside sources for one-third of her iron-ore supply and this constitutes the 
source of about one-half of the iron products. 

The iron industry in Great Britain before the war was loosely con- 
trolled by merchants who acted as intermediaries between producer and 
consumer, an arrangement that did not work to the advantage of the 



86 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

consumer. 1 British manufacturers had little interest abroad and were 
themselves insufficiently organized to operate successfully. If the sources 
of foreign iron ore were cut off, the situation might become critical and 
exceedingly embarrassing until the domestic mining industry could be 
expanded. To meet this condition the British Board of Trade Committee 
advised a consolidation of iron interests by the formation of a syndicate 
for the purchase and distribution of iron ores and particularly for the 
acquiring of interests abroad. This syndicate would establish sales 
agencies and arrange for transportation and trade, similar to the organi- 
zation of W. H. Muller & Co., of The Hague. The committee recom- 
mended that these operations be backed by the government and that all 
the resources of the British Empire be under the control of the government, 
especially in regard to the granting of concessions to aliens and the impos- 
ing of restrictions to favor home producers. It has recently been reported 
that the iron interests have organized along the lines indicated. 

France. — The annual consumption of iron ore in France for the manu- 
facture of pig iron and crude iron and steel products amounts to about 
12 million tons under normal conditions. The productive capacity 
of the iron mines of France is more than 21 million, leaving a surplus of 
9 million tons of ore annually available for export. More than 90 per 
cent, of the iron ore produced in France is obtained from the Lorraine 
iron mines. 

Most of the ore exported from France in the past has gone to German 
blast furnaces. Much has gone to Belgium. Imports of iron ore are 
small, being mostly high-grade ore from Sweden, in which class of ore 
France is deficient. French possessions in North Africa have large "re- 
serves of high-grade ore, but the bulk of the ore mined there has gone to 
England and Germany. 

As a result of the war, that part of the Lorraine iron fields within the 
boundaries of the disputed provinces of Alsace and Lorraine has been 
given to France, who thus has control of the entire output of the great 
Lorraine iron fields with the exception of the part included inLuxemburg. 
The production of the Lorraine iron fields, including the part that for- 
merly belonged to Germany, has been nearly 48 million tons annually, 
of which about 7 million tons is mined in Luxemburg. Outside of the 
Lorraine district France produces about 1,500,000 tons of ore. Thus, 
unless iron and steel making expand greatly in France, much iron ore 
will be mined for export. 

Russia. — In 1913 Russia ranked sixth in the output of iron ore and 
fifth in the output of pig iron, producing about 4J^ per cent, of the world's 
production of iron ore and 6 per cent, of the pig iron. 

Russia's iron-ore reserves are estimated at about 1,600 million tons ; 
a part of which, especially in central Russia, is not economically minable. 

1 British Board of Trade, "Reports on Iron and Steel," London. 



IRON 87 

The district of southern Russia is important on account of its large re- 
serves, large output, and its location. This is particularly true at this 
time on account of Germany's need of iron ore for future use. 

The Russian output of iron ore grew from about 2 million tons annu- 
ally in 1891-93 to 7 or 8 million tons annually in 1913-1917. Southern 
Russia (almost exclusively the Krivoi-Rog district) produced nearly 
7 million tons in 1913, but by 1916 the production from this region 
had been cut down to half, its difference being made up from other re- 
gions. 1 Between 1913 and 1917, Russia produced about 4 million tons 
of pig iron annually, of which 3 million tons came from South Russia, 
and most of the remainder from the Ural region. 

In 1916 the Central War Industry Committee estimated the monthly 
requirements of the whole country at 300,000 tons of pig iron for war 
purposes, and at 80,000 tons for the requirements of the civil population, 
making a total annual consumption of about 4,500,000 tons, or only about 
one-half of the normal consumption. In 1917, the total production in 
the country was estimated to amount to only 30 per cent, of these mini- 
mum requirements. 

The situation in Russia is so unsettled that a statement of present 
conditions in the steel industry is valueless. It is reasonable to assume, 
however, that the iron and steel situation will not materially change as 
to operations and control. Moreover, it will be safe to predict that 
Poland will develop more rapidly as an iron-ore producer in the future, 
as she was handicapped in the past by restrictions on exportation of ore. 

Belgium. — Belgium has been negligible as a producer of iron ore but 
has been a comparatively large importer of iron ore and manufacturer of 
pig iron. The country ranked sixth as a producer of pig iron in 1913, in 
which year it produced 147,048 tons of ore and imported 4,400,000 tons. 2 

Belgian iron works were greatly damaged by the Germans during the 
war, and probably some time will elapse before the industry again reaches 
the position it occupied before the war. The country offers a good mar- 
ket, however, for the iron ores of France and should in future years be a 
larger producer of iron and steel wares. 

Belgium is practically dependent upon outside sources for ore supply, 
but is conveniently situated as a market for ores from many countries. 
The total iron-ore reserves of the country have been estimated at 62,500,- 
000 tons, not enough to last 10 years at the present rate of consumption. 

Austria-Hungary. — The former Austro-Hungarian Empire yielded in 
recent years 2 to 3 per cent, of the annual iron-ore production of the world, 

1 Advisory Council, [Dept. of Sci. and Indust. Research, "Report on the Sources 
and Production of Iron and Other Metalliferous Ores Used in the Iron and Steel In- 
dustry," 1918. Also British Board of Trade, "Reports on Iron and Steel," London; 
and Ironmonger Metal Market Year Book, 1918. 

2 Board of Trade, "Reports on Iron and Steel," London. 



88 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

and about 2 per cent, of the pig-iron production; therefore it has been of 
minor importance in the iron industry. The ore reserves have been 
estimated at 284 million tons of available ore, and 807 million tons ad- 
ditional of probable ore. 

The present unsettled conditions will probably result in considerable 
change in the operation and control of the iron mines and works. Eventu- 
ally the upheaval may stimulate the iron industry, but the result should 
not materially alter the international position. 

Japan. — The iron and steel industry of Japan is of small magnitude as 
compared with that of the United States, Germany, Great Britain, and 
other leading iron and steel manufacturing countries. The total re- 
serves of iron ore are probably not much more than 60 million tons, or 
less than has been mined annually in the Lake Superior district in recent 
years. The steel-making industry is expanding rapidly, however, and 
at present blast furnaces, steel-making furnaces, and steel mills are being 
erected in Japan, Korea, Manchuria, and China by Japanese interests. 

The output of iron ore in Japan is utterly inadequate to supply this 
expanding industry. The production of iron ore in Japan has averaged 
about 150,000 tons annually in recent years, whereas the consumption of 
crude, semi-crude and manufactured articles of iron and steel is approxi- 
mately 1,500,000 tons. In order to supply her needs, therefore, from 
her own manufacturing plants, Japan would require in the neighborhood 
of 3 million tons of iron ore annually. As compared with this, Japan's 
entire consumption of iron ore, both imported and domestic, is less than 
700,000 tons. The remainder of the iron and steel required in Japan is 
being imported in the form of pig iron and crude and manufactured 
products. 

Japan is making a strong effort to develop iron-ore deposits in neigh- 
boring countries, especially in China, Manchuria, and Korea; and the 
production from these sources which goes to Japanese-controlled furnaces 
is rapidly increasing. Among the more recent Japanese iron and steel 
enterprises in these countries are the blast furnaces and steel plant now 
being built at An-schan-chang, south of Mukden, in Manchuria; the 
blast furnaces at Pen-hsi-hu, southeast of Mukden, in Manchuria; and 
the blast furnaces at Ken-ji-pho, in Korea. The last two of these 
plants are now producing pig iron, which is being sent to Japan. In the 
future all three plants will probably build steel works. Iron-ore deposits 
are being mined in connection with all of them. Besides being used in 
the local blast furnaces, iron ore is being sent to Japan from these mines. 
In China, the most important iron and steel enterprise is that at Han- 
yang, in the Province of Hu-peh. This operation was started by the 
Han-Yeh-Ping Iron & Steel Co., as a Chinese enterprise in connection 
with the Tayeh mines in the same province. This company, however, 
became involved in financial difficulties, and Japanese capital was called 



IRON 89 

upon in order that work might continue. Considerable expansion of 
the plant is at present taking place under Japanese supervision. Iron 
ore from the Tayeh mines and pig iron from the Han-yang plant are 
sent to Japan for use in Japanese iron and steel works. 

It is doubtful whether, with the rapid expansion of the Japanese iron 
and steel industry, mines in China, Manchuria and Korea can be de- 
veloped fast enough to supply the raw materials necessary. There are 
rumors that several deposits of iron ore in eastern China are now being 
developed, including that of Chin-ling-chen, and these may afford some 
additional supply. The iron mines of India also may be called upon to 
furnish more iron ore to Japan than they have done in the past. The 
only other important iron-ore deposits known elsewhere in the Orient 
are in the Philippine Islands. These deposits are reported to be fairly 
important and they are favorably situated for supplying Japanese plants. 
They are controlled by Americans. 

The present expansion of the Japanese iron and steel industry is such 
that it is a question whether the consumption of iron products in Japan 
will be sufficient to take care of the entire output. It seems very probable 
that Japan is looking for a large export trade in iron and steel products. 
The Japanese may be ambitious not only to displace European and 
American goods in the Orient, but may even attempt to secure a market 
on the Pacific Coast of the United States and Canada. It is quite prob- 
able that Japanese manufactured articles will be able to compete in the 
western United States with articles manufactured in the eastern states 
and subject to heavy transportation rates. On the other hand, there is 
an active movement to start an iron industry on the Pacific Coast, and 
it is hoped that plants established there will be able to manufacture iron 
and steel products at a low enough cost to enable them to compete with 
Japanese products in the Orient. 



CHAPTER IV 

MANGANESE 

By D. F. Hewett 
USES OF MANGANESE 

Alloys of manganese are essential in the manufacture of steel by the 
open-hearth and the Bessemer processes, which produce 99 per cent, of 
the total output of the United States. In this country, about 14 pounds of 
metallic manganese as alloys, equivalent to about 40 pounds of high-grade 
ore, is used in making a ton of average steel. Two alloys are in common 
use: ferromanganese and spiegeleisen. Ferromanganese, with 70 to 80 
per cent, manganese, is largely used in making open-hearth steel carrying 
less than 0.30 per cent, carbon, whereas spiegeleisen, with 20 to 32 per cent, 
manganese, is used in making Bessemer steel carrying more than 0.30 
per cent, carbon. The first group of low-carbon steels is used in making 
structural shapes, sheets, bars, wire, etc., and the second group of high- 
carbon steels is used in making rails, forgings, etc. 

In making 70 to 80 per cent, ferromanganese, so-called "high-grade" 
ore with more than 35 per cent, manganese and less than 5 per cent, iron 
and 15 per cent, silica is needed. In making 20 to 32 per cent, spiegeleisen, 
so-called " low-grade" or ferruginous manganese ore with 10 to 35 per 
cent, manganese, 20 to 35 per cent, iron, and less than 20 per cent, silica 
is needed, although here and there spiegeleisen is made by mixing high- 
grade manganese ore with iron ore. 

Several other alloys such as silico-manganese, ferro-silicon, and ferro- 
carbon-titanium may be used as partial substitutes for ferromanganese, 
but although they may be capable of wider use under stress, they are 
electric-furnace products and under normal con ditions v their cost is 
prohibitive. 

Very pure manganese oxide is used in making the common dry battery, 
the production of which has greatly increased with the wide use of the 
internal-combustion engine. About 25,000 tons is used annually in the 
United States for this purpose. The manganese oxide thus used is not 
consumed, but becomes exhausted through the loss of oxygen. Under 
stress of high prices, the oxide may be regenerated by treatment or by 
mixture with new refined material. 

Small quantities of manganese ore are used in making many chemical 
products and pigments. 

90 



MANGANESE 91 

CHANGES IN PRACTICE 

Any consideration of the need for manganese ore and ferromanganese 
and of dependence upon foreign sources of supply should take account of 
the degree to which low-grade ore and spiegeleisen may be used as sub- 
stitutes for high-grade ore and ferromanganese. Thus, although both 
Germany and the United States have only insignificant resources of high- 
grade ore, both possess unusually large reserves of low-grade ore. Under 
recent conditions in the United States the percentage of total manganese 
used as spiegeleisen increased in three years from 10 to about 18 per cent. 
Competent authorities have estimated that this substitution may be 
further increased to nearly 70 per cent, with slight modifications in prac- 
tice and modest addition of equipment. Some competent engineers 
further contend that by other modifications of practice a large part 
of the manganese now needed as alloys may be eliminated by the addition 
of low-grade manganese ore during early stages of the smelting and 
refining process. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

Although concentrated masses such as are useful in the arts are rather 
uncommon, manganese is widespread throughout the earth; it forms a 
part of about 100 minerals and most of the common rocks, igneous as 
well as sedimentary, contain 0.1 to 2 per cent. 

Present requirements as to grade are such that manganese ores are 
largely oxides. The carbonate, rhodochrosite, contains enough manga- 
nese to permit its use in making 80 per cent, ferromanganese, but only 
in a few places are the masses large enough to be the basis of extensive 
mining. The common silicate contains 43 per cent, manganese, but the 
silica content is so high (23 per cent.) that it can not be used alone in 
making the ordinary alloys. 

The common oxides of manganese are deposited under many condi- 
tions which are found near the surface of the earth. Large masses of 
oxides were deposited in shallow marine waters, in shallow fresh-water 
basins and under many other conditions in the relatively thin mantle of 
weathered rock that is found over the entire world. Although most of 
these large masses were formed in the surface zone where the under- 
lying unweathered rocks are unusually rich in manganese, some large 
masses of oxides accumulate under peculiarly favorable conditions by 
the concentration of small quantities of manganese disseminated through 
the common rocks. 

For purposes of geologic study, deposits of manganese oxides may be 
considered in two groups, as follows: (1) those derived from more or less 
localized masses of carbonate or silicate materials, generally with more than 
5 per cent, manganese, that seem to have no relation to the surface of 



92 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

the earth; and (2) those originally deposited near the surface as localized 
bodies of oxides. 

Under the first group are zones of carbonate or silicate rocks in con- 
tact with intrusive igneous rocks, such as are found in Brazil and India. 
These zones contain manganiferous carbonates (mixed with iron, lime, 
and magnesia); and silicates (spessartite or manganese garnet and 
piedmontite or manganese epidote and possibly rhodonite, or manganese 
pyroxene). By the weathering of such rocks, large bodies of high-grade 
oxides have been formed. 

Manganese also occurs in fissure veins or the adjacent wall rocks 
in regions that have been intruded by igneous rocks. The veins com- 
monly contain rhodochrosite, manganiferous siderite, or rhodonite, asso- 
ciated with quartz and metallic sulphide minerals, including alabandite, 
the sulphide of manganese. Such veins are known in Philipsburg and 
Butte, Mont.; Silverton, Colo., and elsewhere. In such regions if the 
wall rocks adjacent to fissures are limestone or dolomite, they may be 
extensively replaced by manganiferous siderite or other carbonates which 
on weathering yield large bodies of manganese oxides, locally mixed with 
iron oxides. Such bodies are known at Leadville, Colo. 

The manganese existing in sediments, notably clayey, but in part 
carbonate, may migrate locally after the sediments are slightly buried and 
form zones of manganiferous carbonate and silicate concretions parallel 
to the bedding. Where, as in the Batesville district, Arkansas, these 
zones are exposed by erosion, the manganese is further concentrated as 
masses of oxides in residual clay. 

Metamorphic rocks, such as slates and schists, here and there, as in 
Spain, Newfoundland, California, and Washington, contain extensive 
lenses of rhodonite or other silicate with or without rhodochrosite, roughly 
parallel to the bedding. The origin of these lenses, which are generally 
rather remote from igneous intrusions, is obscure. Some are considered 
to be materials laid down during sedimentation, others are thought to 
represent concentrations effected during metamorphism when the sedi- 
ments were deeply buried. 

In the second group mentioned above (manganese deposits first con- 
centrated near the surface as oxides) are included extensive deposits of 
oxides interbedded with marine sediments, as in the Caucasus region, 
Russia. Others interbedded with volcanic material, tuffs and flows, 
are known in the Mediterranean region and in Chile. In India impor- 
tant beds of oxides are interbedded with quartzite and slate. 

Many deposits of oxides have recently formed and are probably now 
forming in bogs in many regions, notably New Brunswick, Canada. 
They are not important as sources of production. 

Although no simple relation seems to govern the distribution of 
manganese in unweathered rock, there is reason for believing that the 



MANGANESE 93 

accumulation of manganese oxides in the weathered mantle is favored by 
climates that cause unusually complete or deep rock decay. Although a 
few manganese oxide deposits are found within the belts of recent glacia- 
tion, and some have no relation to weathering, most of the important 
deposits occur in areas now or recently favored with warm, humid 
climates, and there is reason for suspecting that such areas will yield 
other important deposits. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

North America. — In the United States, the occurrence of manganese 
ore can be most clearly described by grouping the districts according to 
grade or ore : (1) high grade, containing 35 per cent, or more of manganese, 
which is used ordinarily for making the high-grade alloy, ferromanga- 
nese, and (2) low-grade, ferruginous manganese ore, used ordinarily 
for the low-grade ferro-alloy, spiegeleisen. The country is deficient in 
natural supplies of the former, but has abundant resources of the latter, 
which under the stress of necessitj^ could be largely substituted for the 
high-grade ore, which is now mainly imported. 

The following districts in the United States yield high-grade ore: 

At Philipsburg, Mont., are bodies of manganese carbonate that re- 
place Cambrian limestone near veins and igneous contacts. These 
are weathered to oxides to a depth of about 200 feet below the surface. 
At Butte, Mont., veins in granite contain manganese carbonate and 
silicate, locally weathered to oxides. 

In the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, and in similar valleys in 
Tennessee and Georgia, the residual clays from certain Cambrian lime- 
stones and Silurian shale and sandstone yield bodies of manganese oxides 
to depths that range from 200 to 250 feet below the surface. Many 
small deposits also occur in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Nevada, 
and Utah. 

The total production of the United States from 1838 to 1918 was 
893,734 tons, and the maximum was 305,869 tons in 1918. 

Among the chief districts yielding the lower grade of ore (10 to 35 
per cent, manganese) the most conspicuous is the Cuyuna district in 
Minnesota, where beds of iron-manganese carbonate of pre-Cambrian 
age are weathered to oxides to depths of 250 to 500 feet below the surface 
and contain ore bodies carrying 7 to 20 per cent, manganese, and 25 to 50 
per cent. iron. The single deposits range from 50,000 to 7,500,000 tons 
each. Since the first shipments in 1913, the production through 1918 
has been 1,666,677 tons of ore carrying more than 5 per cent, manganese. 

Large deposits of low-grade manganese ore also occur in the Leadville 
district in Colorado, where irregular bodies of iron-manganese carbon- 
ate have replaced magnesian limestone of Carboniferous age and are 



94 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

weathered to oxides to depths as great as 850 feet. From 1885 to 1918, 
the total production was 3,202,678 tons of material, most of which con- 
tained from 15 to 30 per cent, manganese. 

Other deposits of ferruginous manganese ore have been exploited 
in Eagle County, Colorado; the Pioche district, Nevada; Silver City 
district, New Mexico; and in Arkansas, Georgia, and Virginia. 

In Canada, large deposits of siliceous manganese ores occur in New- 
foundland, and several small deposits in New Brunswick, Alberta, and 
British Columbia. 

In Costa Rica, manganese occurs in four districts near Playa Real, 
Nicoya Peninsula, in the form of oxides that seem to be interlayered 
with sedimentary rocks. The most productive deposits are owned by 
citizens of United States and of Cuba; others are owned entirely by 
Cubans. They were first exploited in 1916, and to the end of 1918 had 
exported 18,000 tons to United States. 

In Cuba, manganese is mined near Santiago and Bueycito, in the 
province of Oriente. Near Santiago, manganese oxides occur as lenticu- 
lar or irregular bodies in tuff, clay, and limestone. Other deposits are 
reported in Santa Clara and Pinal del Rio provinces. The mines that 
have been the source of more than 90 per cent, of the exports are owned 
jointly by citizens of Cuba and of the United States, and the remaining 
mines by Cubans. 

From 1888 to 1910, 266,621 tons were exported. In 1915, after four 
years of idleness, the mines were reopened, and imports into the United 
States from 1915 to 1918, inclusive, were 163,189 tons. 1 

In Mexico, manganese ores are found four miles north of Chihuahua 
City and south of Palomas, in the State of Chihuahua. It is assumed that 
the deposits are owned by native Mexicans. Manganese also occurs near 
Conception Bay, Lower California, where the mines are owned by native 
Mexicans but are under lease to Americans. From both of these dis- 
tricts, 1,500 tons were produced and exported to the United States in 
1917. 

In the Republic of Panama, near Nombre de Dios and Madinga, 
there are irregular lenses of manganese oxides in decomposed sedimentary 
beds. Seven groups of deposits were exploited near Nombre de Dios. 
Five of them were exploited by Americans, one by native owners, and 
one by French. The Nombre de Dios deposits yielded 50,000 tons of 
ore from 1871 to 1902, largely during the last six years. The Madinga 
deposits were opened in 1916 and during 1916 and 1917 exported 11,000 
tons to the United States. 

South America. — The largest deposits of manganese ore in South 
America are in Brazil, and especially in the important mining state of 
Minas Geraes. 

1 Production data, long tons, unless otherwise specified. 



MANGANESE 95 

In the Lafayette district in this state, manganese oxides occur in wide 
lenticular bodies, that seem to have no definite arrangement or association, 
except that most of them are bounded by schist or gneiss. The deposits 
lie in a complex of granite, gneiss, and crystalline schists; and the manga- 
nese oxides are probably derived from manganese-bearing carbonate and 
silicate minerals. The most productive area, known as the Morro da 
Mina, 2,500 feet long by 1,000 feet wide, contains four distinct bodies that 
range from 320 to 1,300 feet long and from 48 to 320 feet wide. Here 
manganese oxides persist 410 feet below the surface. 

The area has yielded about 1,000,000 tons of ore and the reserves 
are probably between 7,000,000 and 10,000,000 tons. 

In the same State of Minas Geraes, in the Miguel Burnier and Ouro 
Prieto districts, manganese oxides are interlayered with ferruginous 
sedimentary rocks of pre-Cambrian age. 

In the State of Bahia, the Nazareth district contains bodies of man- 
ganese oxide in a thick surface zone of highly weathered schistose rocks. 
The oxides are probably derived from lenses of manganese garnet in 
schist. The largest deposit yielded 70,000 tons of ore. Manganese 
deposits are also reported near Bom Fim, in the same state. 

Other deposits of manganese ore in Brazil are reported in the states 
of Maranhao and Matto Grosso. 

The known manganese deposits of Minas Geraes he within an area 
about 30 miles square, the center of which is about 300 miles north of 
Rio Janeiro. The ore is readily mined from open cuts, but existing trans- 
portation and loading facilities practically limit the annual exports to 
550,000 tons. 

Most of the important deposits in the Lafayette-Miguel Burnier 
and Ouro Prieto districts are owned by resident Brazilians. In 1915 
a German company had worked a part of the Morro da Mina deposit 
for six or seven years and produced a total of 200,000 tons of ore. Dur- 
ing 1915 a Belgian company was operating the Cocuruto mine near Ouro 
Prieto and was shipping 2,000 tons monthly. The largest deposit of 
the Nazareth district is owned by an American and the undeveloped de- 
posits near Turyassu are owned by Norwegians. 

From the beginning of the industry in 1894 to 1918, 4,660,000 tons 
of manganese ore were exported from Brazil. From 1900 to 1913, 
the annual exports ranged from 99,000 to 250,000 tons, but with the 
elimination of Russian sources in 1914, exports rose to 503,130 tons in 
1916, 532,855 tons in 1917, and 393,388 tons in 1918. In October, 1917, 
the export tax on manganese ore was advanced from $0.85 to $3.00 per 
metric ton. Even before the war a large part of the Brazilian exports 
went to the United States. The destination of the 1913 exports was 
as follows: United States, 60 per cent.; Germany, 18 per cent.; Great 
Britain, 16 per cent.; France, 6 per cent. 



96 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

In Chile, manganese ores occur at Corral Quemada, and nearby 
districts in the State of Coquimbo. In these districts, beds of manganese 
oxides are interlayered with sandstone, shale, and volcanic flows. Man- 
ganese is also found in the Carrizal district in the State of Atacama, 
where beds of manganese oxides are interbanded with shale and lime- 
stone. From 1885, when explorations were begun, to 1905, the exports 
of manganese ores from Chilean ports amounted to 549,716 tons, the 
maximum exports for one year being 50,871 tons, in 1892. 

In Uruguay, deposits of ferruginous manganese ore, reported to con- 
tain 80,500,000 tons, occur at Zapucay, in the Department of Rivera. 

Europe. — In the former empire of Austria-Hungary, the principal 
manganese district is near Dorna Vatra, in Bukowina. Here there are 
lenses of manganese carbonate and silicate in schists that have weathered 
to oxides near the surface. The deposits are owned by the Bukowina 
Greek Church. The average annual production from 1906 to 1912 was 
13,600 tons. Other deposits are reported in Bohemia, Istria, Styria, 
Hungary and Bosnia. Since 1901, the production of Austria-Hungary 
has ranged from 18,000 to 25,000 tons annually. 

In Belgium, near Chevron, in the Province of Liege, ferruginous 
manganese oxides have formed by the weathering of manganese and iron 
carbonates. Since 1901, the annual production in peace times has 
ranged from 2,000 to 15,000 tons. 

In France, manganese occurs chiefly near Romaneche, in the Depart- 
ment of Saone and Loire, where several bodies of manganese oxides lie in 
a fault between sedimentary rocks and granite. The deposit has been 
known since 1823, and the production in 1901 was 9,500 tons. Other 
French deposits have been explored in the Departments of Hautes- 
Pyrenees, L'Ariege, L'Allier, L'Ande, and La Nievre. The annual pro- 
duction rather steadily declined from 22,000 tons in 1901 to 6,000 tons 
in 1913. The ownership of the French manganese deposits seems to be 
largely French, possibly aided by some English capital. 

In Germany, manganese ore of the better type, containing over 30 per 
cent, of the metal, occurs in Sachsen-Gotha, Central Germany, in small 
veins of manganese and iron carbonates weathered near the surface 
to oxides. A similar grade of manganese ore occurs in small quantities 
at Hessen and Waldeck, in Rhenish Prussia. 

Manganiferous iron ore, containing from 12 to 30 per cent, of manga- 
nese, occurs in Hessen-Nassau, Rhenish Prussia, where manganese and 
iron oxides form irregular flat lenses imbedded in clays derived from the 
weathering of underlying Devonian limestone. During the period 1907 
to 1911, nine deposits yielded 262,000 to 283,000 tons annually. 

Manganiferous iron ore (containing less than 12 per cent, manganese) 
is found at Siegerland and at Nassau, Rhenish Prussia. The veins are 
large and contain manganiferous siderite; they cut Devonian sediments. 



MANGANESE 97 

These deposits are largely owned by the principal iron works of Rhenish 
Prussia. During the period 1907 to 1911, the annual production ranged 
from 2,200,000 to 2,600,000 tons. 

In Great Britain, the principal deposits are in North Wales. Veins of 
manganese carbonate and silicate, as well as interlayered lenses, are 
found. The material contains 20 to 36 per cent, manganese. Other 
deposits are recorded in Devonshire, Cornwall, and Shropshire. The 
maximum production of Great Britain of about 23,000 tons was attained 
in 1906, when two mines in North Wales yielded 19,300 tons. 

Manganese occurs in Greece, in the western end of the island of Melos, 
where nodules and masses of manganese oxides are disseminated through 
beds of tuffs of Pliocene age. The maximum production of 15,000 tons 
was recorded in 1902. The output has since steadily declined to 550 tons 
in 1913. Manganese also occurs on the peninsula of Kassandra, which 
was formerly in European Turkey. A vein explored mainly for argenti- 
ferous galena yields manganese oxides from the surface zone. The maxi- 
mum production of 52,000 tons was attained in 1902, steadily declining 
thereafter to 12,000 tons in 1910. 

In Italy there is manganese in Tuscany, where irregular bodies of 
manganese and iron oxides occur in Triassic limestones. Other deposits 
in Liguria and Sardinia have recently yielded a little ore. Of the maxi- 
mum Italian production of 18,147 metric tons (18 to 45 per cent, manga- 
nese) in 1916, 14,072 metric tons was derived from the Tuscany deposits 
in Tuscany. Normally the annual production has ranged from 1,600 to 
4,700 tons. 

In Portugal there is manganese in Alemtejo. The deposits, reported 
to be lenses and veins in Silurian quartzites, are owned by a Portuguese 
company. 

Russia contains the most important manganese deposits in Europe, 
if not in the world. The principal mining district is near Chiaturi, 
in the Kutais Government, on the south side of the Caucasus Mountains, 
in southern Russia. Layers of oolitic grains of manganese oxides are 
interbedded with horizontal sandstone and shale of Lower Eocene age. 
Within a zone that ranges in thickness from 4.5 to 7.5 feet and averages 
about 6.5 feet, seven distinct layers of very pure manganese oxide aggre- 
gate about 40 inches in thickness, and the remainder is low-grade material 
and sand. It is estimated that an area of 120 to 143 square kilometers 
was originally underlain by the bed of oxides, but that about half has 
been removed by erosion. Estimates of reserves range from 23,000,000 
tons to several hundred million tons. 

The mines are operated in a crude, inefficient manner and scarcely 
two-thirds of the ore is recovered. The number of actual producers 
ranged from 183 in 1902, to 376 in 1906, but declined to 96 during the 
political troubles in 1908. The ore is sorted by hand and the low-grade 



98 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

material is washed in crude plants. From 20 to 25 per cent, of the 
exported material has been concentrated by washing. 

In 1902 there were 5,000 concessions, of which 3,750 were owned by 
14 persons, each with 25 to 500 concessions; the remainder belonged to 
300 peasants and small merchants. By 1912 a producers' association 
had been formed to permit the owners to deal collectively with the ex- 
porters. Large investments had also been made by German capitalists 
in mines as well as in undeveloped territory. The Gelsenkirchen Ge- 
sellschaft, a German firm, had been formed partly for the purpose of 
mining but largely to purchase and export ore to Germany. In 1912, this 
firm, although it produced only a little ore, exported nearly one-third of 
the total. German groups also established necessary financial agencies 
to facilitate export of ore as well as to make loans to mine operators. 
In 1913, of 16 exporting firms, only 3 were Russian. 

The output of the mines of the Chiaturi district is hauled to Chiaturi 
(1.3 to 3.3 miles), loaded on narrow-gauge cars for transport to Sharopan 
(25 miles), and then reloaded on cars for shipment to Poti or Batum 
(107 miles), the ports of export. Large stocks ranging from 1,030,- 
000 tons in 1912, to 1,525,000 tons in 1908, are kept at Chiaturi, 
Poti and Batum. From 1910 to 1912, the distribution of exports ranged 
as follows: Holland (for Germany), 30 to 43 per cent.; England, 22 to 
23 per cent.; Belgium (largely for Germany), 15 to 21 per cent; Germany 
(direct), 5 per cent.; France, 4 to 6 per cent.; United States, 4 to 10 per 
cent.; Austria, 4 to 10 per cent. About 1913, an export tax equal to 
40 cents per long ton was levied by the Russian government. 

It is estimated that from 1848 to 1914, inclusive, this deposit yielded 
about 11,000,000 tons of washed ore of marketable grade. The maxi- 
mum production of 1,300,000 tons was attained in 1913. 

Another important manganese mining region is the Nicopol district, 
in the Province of Ekaterinoslav, north of the Black Sea. In this dis- 
trict a bed of manganese oxides lies between clays and sandstone of 
Oligocene age. This bed is 1 to 5 feet thick, averaging nearly 3 feet. 
It is estimated to extend over an area*of 20 square kilometers (7.5 square 
miles) and to contain 7,400,000 tons of manganese ore. The ore is 
mined and washed in a crude way to free it from the attached clay. 

The deposits in this district are probably owned largely by Russians, 
although French capital is interested in one company and German capital 
in another. During the period 1901 to 1910, between 80 and 90 per cent, 
of the production was consumed in southern Russia and the remainder 
was exported. From 1886, when the deposits were first exploited, the 
output rose rather steadily to the maximum of 271,000 tons in 1907, then 
declined to 173,000 tons in 1910. The total production of the district 
is about 1,800,000 tons. 

Manganese deposits are also known in the Province of Podolien 



MANGANESE 99 

and Terek, and in the governments of Tiflis, Erwin, Elisabetpol, and 
Perm. 

The principal manganese deposits of Spain are on the south slope 
of Sierra Morena, in the Province of Huelva. Vertical lenticular bodies 
of manganese carbonate and silicate with a little pyrite, garnet, and mica 
occur interlayered with slate of Paleozoic age. About one hundred 
bodies are known, many being 500 feet long and 100 feet wide, whereas 
the largest is 3,300 feet long and 330 feet wide. The manganese minerals 
are weathered to oxides to an average depth of 65 feet and a maximum 
depth of 250 feet. From 1881 to 1905, when the oxide ores were nearly 
exhausted, nearly 700,000 tons had been shipped. From 1906 to 1910 
about 125,000 tons of mixed carbonate and silicate was produced. 

Manganese is also found in the Covadonga district, Province of Ovie- 
do, where large boulders of manganese oxide are found in clay resulting 
from the weathering of underlying limestone. These deposits yielded 
3,800 tons in 1915. Other productive deposits occur in the provinces of 
Seville and Teruel. Deposits are also known in the provinces of Ciudad 
Real, Murcia, and Almeria. 

In Sweden, there are manganese ores north of Philipstad, in Wermland, 
where tabular bodies of manganese oxides are interlayered with dolomite 
and magnetite. These deposits contributed 7,607 tons out of a total of 
7,733 tons in 1915, which was the maximum recorded production of 
Sweden. 

Asia. — In India, on the east coast in the Vizagapatam and Ganjam 
districts, Madras, is a unique group of rocks known as the Kodurite 
series, containing manganese garnet, manganese pyroxene, potash 
feldspar, apatite, and quartz. These rocks, supposed to be of igneous 
origin, have been deeply weathered and the manganese concentrated as 
oxides in the surface zone. The manganese ore bodies have been explored 
only to 100 feet in depth, but it is expected that they will extend to 500 
feet. The largest ore body explored at the Garbham mine is 1,600 feet 
long and 100 feet wide, and, from 1896 to 1913, yielded 736,192 tons of 
ore. The Kodur deposit yielded 370,382 tons of ore from 1892 to 1913. 
Production began in 1892, reached a maximum of 111,501 tons in 1906, 
and slowly declined to 44,127 tons in 1913. 

Manganese also occurs in the Balaghat, Bhandara, Chindwara, and 
Nagpur districts in the central provinces; Narukot and Panch Mahals 
districts, Bombay; Jhabua district, central India; and the Gangpur 
district in Bihar and Orissa. These districts form a belt that extends 
from Baroda, on the west coast, across northern India nearly to Calcutta 
on the east, a distance of 700 miles. In these districts, beds of manganese 
oxides with manganese garnet and rhodonite form a rock type known as 
gondite, which is interlayered with quartzite and mica schist. These 
rocks are considered to be sediments of the Dharwar group (Archean), 



100 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

The manganese oxides may have been laid down as sediments, or may- 
represent the weathering of the silicates. The ore bodies are lenses and 
layers. The largest single deposit, Baiaghat, has the form of a shallow 
trough, is 154 miles long and 45 to 50 feet thick, and yielded from 1901 
to 1913, 725,248 tons of ore. In 1913, thirteen distinct deposits had yield- 
ed more than 100,000 tons each, the range being from 101,721 to 725,248 
tons. 

From 1901, when the deposits of this type were first exploited, the 
rate of production rose steadily to the maximum of 697,035 tons in 
1913. During 1907, fifty-two separate deposits contributed 598,437 
tons. 

Where rocks of Dharwar age (Archean), such as mica schists, that do 
not seem to contain the manganese-bearing Gondite series, are deeply 
weathered, manganese and manganiferous iron oxides form irregular 
but locally extensive deposits on the crests of hills. These deposits are 
underlain by barren clays that represent the residue of the underlying 
rocks. The largest deposit yielded 160,000 tons of ore in three years, 
1906 to 1908, but is probably almost exhausted. The principal deposits 
of this class are in the Sandur Hills district, Madras; the Shimoga dis- 
trict, Mysore; and the Belgaum district, in Bombay; which he within 
an area less than 100 miles in diameter in southwest India. From 1905, 
when deposits of this group were first explored, the production increased 
to a maximum of 11,353 tons in 1909, then declined to 62,770 tons in 1913. 
The total yield of this group to the end of 1913 was only 765,401 tons. 

As regards the commercial control of the manganese deposits, a law 
recently passed forbids aliens to own more than a minor interest in min- 
eral deposits in India. Previous to this, during 1907, the latest year for 
which complete data are available and in which 899,055 tons was pro- 
duced, the entire output was from mines owned by resident English or 
natives, except for 21,500 tons produced by the Carnegie Steel Co., of 
Pittsburgh, U. S. A. 

The annual production of manganese ore in India rose steadily from 
1892, when the first shipments were made, to 1907, when 899,055 tons 
was shipped; and since then has ranged from 450,000 to 815,000 tons. 
The total production, up to and including 1916, was 8,748,000 tons. 

Indian ores are transported to the shipping ports by rail for distances 
ranging from 56 miles for the Vizagapatam district to 783 miles for the 
Chindwara district, with the result that freight charges are heavy. 
The ports of export in order of tonnage handled are, Bombay, Mormugas, 
Calcutta, and Vizagapatam. The destination of exports in 1913 was 
as follows: United Kingdom, 36 per cent.; Belgium (largely to Germany), 
26 per cent.; United States, 15 per cent.; France, 14 per cent.; Germany, 
2 per cent. ; others, 7 per cent. 

In the Japanese Empire, in the islands of Mutsu, Echigo, Ugo, and 



MANGANESE 101 

Nato, are irregular lenticular bodies of rather pure manganese oxides 
that occur more or less parallel to the bedding of metamorphosed Pale- 
ozoic sediments. Below water level, the oxides grade into rhodonite and 
are probably derived from this mineral. The ore bodies are not large, 
but many are known and they are the source of a small but regular pro- 
duction. In the islands of Mutsu, Nogo, Hokkaido and Ugo many 
irregular but locally large deposits of manganese oxides are associated 
with highly altered volcanic tuffs and flows of Tertiary age. Most of the 
deposits in Japan seem to be owned by natives in small holdings. The 
maximum production of 18,076 tons is reported for 1913, but since 1900 
the range has usually been from 5,000 to 15,000 tons. 

In the Philippine Islands, manganese occurs on the islands of Ilocos 
Norte, Masbate, Bulacan, Pangasinan and Tarloc, largely as veinlets 
and boulders of oxides in weathered igneous rock. On Ilocos Norte a 
maximum production of 3,000 tons was attained in 1916. 

Africa.— On the Gold Coast of West Africa (a British colony), near 
Dagwin, are several deposits of manganese, the largest being 400 feet long 
and 70 feet wide. The concession is owned by a British exploration 
company. The deposit was discovered in 1914; and from the beginning 
of exploration in 1916 up to November 7, 1917, 28,465 tons had been 
shipped to England. 

In the Belgian Congo, there is manganese ore in the valley of the 
Upper Fungwe River, and in southern Katanga. The deposits are too 
remote from the ocean to justify exploration, but are reported to be 
large. In the Union of South Africa (British) several manganese deposits 
are found along the sea coast, within 30 miles east and west of Cape- 
town. Of the seven known deposits the largest is estimated to contain 
15,000 tons. In Egypt, in the Sinai peninsula, are large manganiferous 
iron deposits as well as small manganese deposits, but none has been 
exploited. In Tunis, there are deposits reported to contain 4,000,000 
to 5,000,000 tons of manganiferous iron ore, and also several manganese 
deposits which yielded 5,800 metric tons of manganese ore in 1917. 

Although the known deposits of manganese in Africa are few and 
relatively unimportant, the continent offers an unusual prospect for the 
discovery of deposits that will contribute largely to the world's supply. 
Inasmuch as the moist tropical climate of large areas favors extraordi- 
nary rock decay and surface concentration of manganese oxides, explora- 
tion wiU probably show the presence of many deposits, and where 
bedrock geological conditions are favorable, large bodies may be found. 
Australasia.— In Australia, there are deposits of manganese ore in 
JNew South Wales, in Queensland, in South Australia, and in Victoria. 

In New Zealand, deposits of manganese ore occur in the Thames 
district, Auckland. 

Deposits of manganese ore are known in Borneo, at Maruda Bay. 



102 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



1,400,000 



U 00,0 00 




Fig. 5. — Annual output of manganese ore in chief producing countries. 



-UNITED STATES — 




Fig. 6.— Percentage of manganese ore produced by chief producing countries. 



MANGANESE 103 

It is reported that large deposits of high-grade ore have recently been 
discovered in Java. 

Some statistics of the production of manganese are shown graphically 
in figures 5 and 6. 

DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION IN 

THE NEAR FUTURE 

The known manganese resources of Russia, India, and Brazil are so 
large and readily available for exploitation and marketing that there is 
little prospect of their being displaced as the chief sources of the world's 
supply for many years. Since the war began, in 1914, several important 
new districts have been discovered and brought to the producing stage, 
notably the Gold Coast of West Africa, western Costa Rica, and Java. 
Although the Javan deposits are reported to be large and may become an 
important factor in the world's trade, all that is known concerning the 
other deposits does not hold out much hope that they can compete with 
the established sources. 

There appears to be a fair chance that the equatorial belt as well as 
several other parts of the earth may yield additional important manganese 
deposits. 

The distribution of the manganese deposits of the world is shown 
in Plate III. 

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

The table of production for 1913 on page 105 shows the part of the 
total that each country contributed and the known extent of commer- 
cial control. 

In contrast with deposits of several other important minerals, most 
of the manganese deposits throughout the world are owned by natives 
or residents of the respective countries in which they are found. 

German companies have acquired tracts in the Chiaturi and Nicopol 
districts, Russia, and Queluz (Lafayette) district, Brazil. It appears 
that although one of these companies produces a little ore, the main 
purpose was to stabilize an unorganized industry by financial assistance. 

In India it is difficult to distinguish between those companies com- 
posed of resident English and native Indians which were formed to ex- 
ploit mines for profit and those composed of absentee English who desire 
to secure a supply of ore for English or other consumption. There seems 
to be no English capital in Brazil or Russia. 

One French company owned two shipping mines in India in 1907, 
but there is no record of operations in 1913. French capital is interested 
in several companies busy in the Nicopol district, Russia. A Belgian 
company operates one mine in the Queluz district, Brazil. 



104 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 




MANGANESE 105 

Table 24. — Production and Commercial Control op Manganese 



Country 


Long tons 


Manganese 
content 
(per cent.) 


Per cent. 

of total 

production 


Commercial control 
(estimated per cent.) 


North America. . . 

United States. . . 
South America 

Brazil 


4,048 
120,368 

34,986 

5,709 

7,610 

748 

1,596 

1,289,370 

21,254 
3,938 
5,393 

815,047 

18,516 

27 


40 + 
38-48 

? 

? 

30 + 
30 + 

18-45 

41-48 

29 + 
? 

30 + 
42-54 

? 


0.16 
5.10 

1.5 

0.2 
0.3 
0.03 
0.07 

55.4 

0.9 

0.15 

0.21 

35.0 

0.8 


United States, 100 
f Brazil, 80 
j Belgium, 5 


Europe 

Austria- Hungary 
Bosnia- Herzego- 
vina 


^ Germany, 15 
Austria- Hungary, 100 
? 


France 


France, 100 


Germany 

Italy 


Germany, 100 
Italy, 100 


Russia 


f Russia, 65 
j Germany, 30 


Spain 


*> France, 5 
? 


Sweden 

United Kingdom 
Asia 
India 


? 
England, 100 
( English and native, 90 
| United States, 10 


Japan 


Japan, 100 


Oceania 
Australia 


9 


Total 


2,328,110 





The Carnegie Steel Co., of Pittsburgh, Pa., U. S. A., owns and 
works several deposits in India. Although Americans own deposits in 
the Nazareth district, Brazil, in Panama, and Costa Rica, and some of 
those of Cuba, there is no record of American ownership of any of the 
most important deposits of Brazil, nor of any in Russia. 

From 1902 to 1914, about half the ferromanganese used in the United 
States was made in this country from foreign ore and half was imported 
from England, where it was made from imported ore. This tendency 
arises out of the limitations of blast-furnace smelting of the alloy and the 
difference between the cost of labor in the United States and in England, 
but does not represent definite control, for ferromanganese may be made 
in any modern blast furnace used to make pig iron. In order to smelt 
with maximum efficiency in making ferromanganese, however, a blast 
furnace should run continuously for long periods, and therefore make 
20,000 to 35,000 tons of alloy annually. Although it is possible to pass 
without interruption from making ferromanganese to spiegeleisen and 
then to pig iron, the change causes losses. Small steel works in the 



106 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

United States therefore find it more advantageous to purchase imported 
ferromanganese than to make what they need. 

POSITION OF THE IMPORTANT NATIONS WITH REGARD TO 
MANGANESE SUPPLIES 

United States. — Although from 1885 to 1890, deposits in the United 
States supplied half or more of the needed high-grade manganese ore, from 
1890 to 1916 the domestic production rather steadily declined to a neg- 
ligible minimum, while imports of foreign ore and ferromanganese steadily 
rose in accord with the rate of total steel production. On the other hand, 
during the period ending about 1908, when the rate of manufacture of 
steel by the Bessemer process (in which spiegeleisen is largely used) 
exceeded that by the open-hearth process, the annual domestic contri- 
bution of spiegeleisen largely made from domestic ores greatly exceeded 
the imports. In advance, therefore, of the exploitation of the large 
deposits of low-grade ores of Minnesota, which have been the source of 
most of the production since 1916, the United States demonstrated inde- 
pendence of foreign supplies of low-grade ore and alloys. 

The experience and information gained during the war, largely 
during 1918, show conclusively, first, with respect to metallurgy, that 
20 to 30 per cent, spiegeleisen, as well as 60 to 70 per cent, ferromangan- 
ese, instead of 80 per cent., may be used to make satisfactory grades of 
open-hearth steel without appreciably sacrificing rate of production or 
quality of product; and second, with respect to ore production, that 
known domestic deposits can supply for at least five and probably ten or 
more years, much more low-grade ore than is needed to make spiegeleisen, 
and for at least five years and possibly ten years, about one-third the 
high-grade ore needed for the manufacture of alloy with 60 to 80 per cent, 
manganese. The reader should note, however, that capacity of mines 
to meet demand is in large measure determined by the prices offered for 
the product, which during 1918 were about five times those prevailing 
before the war. Beyond doubt, at pre-war prices, the United States can 
not supply more than several per cent, of the high-grade ore needed to 
make ferromanganese. 

Citizens of the United States have not shown great interest in pur- 
chasing foreign deposits of manganese ore. With Cubans, they have con- 
trolled the mines yielding a large part of the Cuban output, and about 
1907 one company, the Carnegie Steel Co., purchased several deposits in 
India. That company, however, seems to purchase ore, in addition 
to the output of its mines. Not until 1917 did Americans enter the 
Brazilian fields; then the largest deposits of the relatively unimportant 
Bahia district were purchased by a Philadelphia group. 

England.- — Before the war, England received about 50 per cent, of 
her manganese ore from India, 40 per cent, from Russia, 3 per cent, from 



MANGANESE 107 

Brazil, and small quantities from Spain and Portuguese India. Some 
low-grade ore also came from Spain, Algeria, and Greece. Domestic pro- 
duction was scarcely 1 per cent, of imports. Exports of ferromanganese, 
largely to the United States, however, have been equivalent to 35 to 45 
per cent, of the total imports of ore. Two effects of the war were to elimi- 
nate Russia as a source of ore, the deficit being made up from India, 
and greatly to curtail exports of ferromangnese. In contrast with the 
United States and Germany, Great Britain does not seem to contain 
deposits of low-grade ores capable of supplementing the needs of high- 
grade ore. 

England controls fully 90 per cent, of the Indian output, probably 
through ownership by resident English and native Indians. On the other 
hand, England seems to have no control, direct or indirect, of the output 
of Brazil, Russia, or of other important contributions to supplies. 

France. — Of the needed manganese ore, France imports from 35 to 
45 per cent, from India, 40 to 55 per cent, from Russia, about 10 per cent, 
from Spain, and several per cent, from Brazil, and produces about 2 per 
cent. The domestic material, however, contains 30 per cent, or less 
manganese. In addition, France imports, as well as exports, a little 
ferromanganese from time to time. 

So far as available data indicate, the French have made practically 
no foreign investments in manganese deposits, except in the Nicopol 
district, Russia. A company with a French name mined about 1,300 
tons in India in 1907, out of a total of 899,055 long tons. 

Germany. — Germany's position with respect to manganese is very 
similar to that of the United States. For four years prior to 1914, 
Germany imported 48 to 68 per cent, of the total receipts from Russia, 
25 to 35 from India, 3 to 7 from Brazil, and small quantities from Spain 
Greece, and Sweden. Domestic production of ore with more than 30 
per cent, manganese is negligible. Germany probably exports small 
quantities of ferromanganese to Sweden and other European countries, 
and from time to time has exported alloy to the United States. 

Like the United States, however, Germany possesses extensive de- 
posits of ferruginous manganese ore with 12 to 30 per cent, manganese; 
and from 1908 to 1913, produced 260,000 to 330,000 metric tons of such 
material, as well as 2,300,000 to 3,000,000 tons with 5 to 7 per cent, 
manganese. There can be little doubt that although Germany, through 
accumulated stocks of manganese ore and seizures in Belgium, possessed 
in 1914 at least two years' supply, she was able to maintain a fairly 
constant rate of steel production for four years by adapting processes to 
economize high-grade ore and use low-grade. 

Germans appear to have purchased manganese deposits in Russia 
and Brazil only, and these have yielded only a small part of the annual 
imports. In the Chiaturi district of Russia, however, where most of the 



108 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

deposits are owned by natives, a German company, Gelsenkirchen Gesell- 
schaft,reported to be a subsidiary of the Krupp company, was established 
about 1910, to purchase property as well as trade with and offer financial 
assistance to the producers. It is reported that this company alone 
exported about one-third of the output of the district. Germans are 
reported to own a part of one of several companies operating in the Nico- 
pol district, Russia. 

SUMMARY 

A review of the manganese ore industry, including features of the 
deposits, their geographic distribution and ownership, indicates several 
definite conclusions: 

1. The surface outcrops of most manganese deposits give reliable 
information concerning the size and grade of the deposits, and the most 
desirable ore occurs in a surface zone scarcely 100 feet deep. 

2. Except in Russia and Spain, the most productive mines are open- 
cuts, and mining is quickly and easily accomplished at minimum expense. 
Extensive operations in advance of production are rarely necessary. 

3. The countries that possess the largest and richest deposits have 
an abundant and cheap labor supply. 

4. The productive capacity of the known deposits so much exceeds 
the world's demand for ore for steel making, that if any single source is 
temporarily eliminated, the demand can be wholly met by the remaining 
sources at prices that are only slightly higher than those previously 
prevailing. 

5. The value of the material at the sources of production is relatively 
low among raw minerals, and ranges from one-third to one-eighth of the 
selling price at the points of consumption. It is evident that the cost 
of transportation represents a large part of the final price. 

6. The working of most deposits yields so little profit, and therefore 
is so hazardous, that only a few foreigners own deposits in the chief 
producing countries. 

7. The only case of commercial control, that of the Chiaturi district, 
Russia, by Germans, who offer the natural market, seems to have been 
established to counteract local political disorders rather than to eliminate 
competitive consumers. 

8. No nation that contributes largely to the world's steel production, 
except Russia, possesses domestic deposits of manganese ore sufficient 
to meet its needs, and all must import ore from rather remote sources. 
The United States and Germany, however, possess domestic deposits 
of ferruginous manganese ore that under great stress would probably 
permit independence of foreign sources. 



CHAPTER V 

CHROMIUM 

By E. C. Harder 
USES OF CHROMIUM 

Chromite is the principal ore from which metallic chromium and 
chromium products are obtained. The theoretical composition of chro- 
mite is represented by the formula FeO Cr 2 3 , which represents 32 per 
cent, ferrous oxide and 68 per cent, chromic oxide. In many ores, how- 
ever, the ferrous oxide is partly replaced by magnesia, up to 30 per cent., 
and the chromic oxide by alumina and ferric oxide, up to 20 per cent. 
Thus the composition of chromite varies considerably. The percentage 
of chromic oxide may be as low as 10 per cent.; that of ferrous oxide may 
range from 10 to 50 per cent. Other common minerals of chromium are 
picotite (chrome spinel), uvarovite (chrome garnet), chrome diopside 
and crocoite (lead chromate). 

Chrome ore is consumed mainly in the manufacture of special steels 
and in tanning leather. The special steels comprise chrome steel, chrome- 
nickel steel, chrome-tungsten steel, and chrome-vanadium steel. Metal- 
lic chromium is added to such steel in the form of ferrochrome, an alloy 
of chromium and iron containing 60 to 70 per cent, metallic chromium. 
Chrome steel is tough and hard to break. It hardens rapidly and has a 
fine grain and a fibrous fracture; it does not break readily upon concus- 
sion and because of its hardness is difficult or impossible to cut with 
ordinary machine tools. Metallic chromium is present in percentages 
varying from 1 to 5 per cent. Special steels containing chromium are 
used for guns, armor plate, armor-piercing projectiles, automobile parts, 
machine tools, bars for prisons, burglar-proof safes, shoes, cutlery, crusher 
jaws, stampmills, springs and for other articles in which hardness and 
toughness are necessary. During the war, when a considerable shortage 
of chromite threatened, less chromium was used in chrome steels, and 
certain other hardening materials were used in its place. The results are 
said to have been unsatisfactory, however. 

Ferrochrome used in the manufacture of chrome steels is produced in 
the electric furnace by smelting a mixture, in proper proportions, of 
chromite, coal or coke, lime, and fluorspar or silica. 

Much chrome ore is used in the steel industry for refractory materials 
in fining open-hearth furnaces. Some of the ore thus used is first manu- 

109 



1 10 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

factured into chrome brick and some is utilized in the crude form. 
Chrome brick is used in open-hearth furnaces as a lining along the slag 
line between the magnesite bottom of the furnace and the silica-brick 
sides and roof. Chrome brick is used also to cover the ports of gas- 
fired furnaces. It is desirable for these purposes on account of its neu- 
tral reaction, which reduces the wear due to corrosion. Lump or crushed 
chromite is used for patching the bottoms of open-hearth furnaces, par- 
ticularly the toe or apex of the bottom, the ore being either hammered in 
place as lump or crushed and mixed with a little water or tar and clay and 
then tamped into place. The use of lump chrome in repairing such furn- 
aces is desirable on account of the rapidity with which the furnaces can be 
repaired and on account of the greater wear that chromite will stand. 
The amount of chromite used for this purpose ranges from 2 pounds to 10 
pounds per ton of steel manufactured. Magnesite has been used to 
replace chromite for repairing furnaces, but has been found to be more 
expensive and to stand less wear. 

Chrome brick is used in a minor way in electric furnaces for manu- 
facturing steel, in a belt along the slag line and in the area around the 
pouring lips. It is also being used in furnaces manufacturing steel by 
the duplex process. 

Chrome brick, besides being used in steel-making furnaces, is used 
in lining furnaces for making copper, nickel, and other metals. In 
these furnaces it is used in the bottoms and around the tap holes. Mag- 
nesite brick, as well as bauxite brick, have been used to replace chromite 
brick for this purpose. 

Chromium chemicals used for tanning are mainly sodium or potassium 
bichromates. About half of the bichromates produced in the United 
States is commonly used for tanning, the remainder being used for paints, 
pigments, dry colors, and dyes in the paint, printing and engraving, and 
textile industries. Chrome yellow, chrome orange, and chrome black 
are used in calico printing and dyeing. Chromic oxide, or chrome green, 
is an indelible pigment employed in printing banknotes. Various other 
chrome colors are used for paints and pigments as well as in the ceramic 
arts. The minor uses of chrome chemicals are many. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

Chromite throughout the world is associated with basic igneous rocks, 
such as peridotite or pyroxenite, or with the alteration products of these 
rocks, such as serpentine, talc schist, and related rocks. Chromite 
deposits are generally in the form of lenses, pods, or irregular masses 
that may occur singly or may be associated in groups. Besides being 
found as large bodies, chromite occurs as a minor constituent of these 
rocks, being widely disseminated through them as small specks and 



CHROMIUM 111 

particles. Chromite that forms workable deposits is believed to have 
been separated out of the molten mass of basic igneous rock by segrega- 
tion and to have formed separate bodies within the rock mass during the 
cooling. Most chromite deposits are found along the borders of in- 
trusive masses not far from the contact of older rocks into which they 
are intruded. This is probably due to the formation of peripheral 
fractures during the cooling of the igneous mass, chromite being forced 
up into these openings. The action of convection-currents in the molten 
magma may also have resulted in localizing chromite bodies near the 
borders of the mass. However, bodies of chromite are quite abundant 
in other parts of the igneous masses as well, often being found at long 
distances from bordering rocks. 

By weathering of chromite-bearing igneous rock, chromite bodies are 
freed and occur as loose masses in resultant residual clays. Such bodies 
in clay are of commercial importance in many places. The breaking 
down of chromite-bearing rocks results in setting free disseminated specks 
and particles of chromite, and these may be transported and later de- 
posited along streams flowing out of chromite-bearing areas. In this 
manner accumulations of chromite sands are formed. Besides chromite, 
these sands usually contain considerable quantities of other heavy min- 
erals such as magnetite, ilmenite, garnet, and rutile, and the chromite in 
them is generally not available commercially. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

The world's chromite supply has been obtained mainly from the 
following sources, named roughly in order of their importance : 

New Caledonia; southern Rhodesia; western and southern Asia 
Minor; Ural Mountains, Russia; eastern Greece, adjacent islands, Mace- 
donia, and Serbia; Baluchistan and Mysore, India; Quebec, Canada; 
Atlantic and Pacific coast states, United States; State of Bahia, Brazil; 
Oriente, Cuba; Japan; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Austria-Hungary; and 
Guatemala. 

The geographic distribution of the more important deposits of chro- 
mite is shown in Plate IV. 

Other countries in which deposits of chromite are known but in which 
little or no ore has been produced are: Shetland Islands, Scotland; Nor- 
way; Sweden; Silesia; Portugal; New South Wales, Australia; New 
Zealand; Transvaal; Togoland; and Newfoundland. 

Table 25 shows the output of chromite in the chief producing coun- 
tries from 1905 to 1917. 

Australasia. — Important quantities of chromite occur on the island of 
New Caledonia, in the South Pacific, and in smaller amounts in Australia, 
New Zealand, and Tasmania. 



112 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 




CHROMIUM 



113 





»c ^ 


IS IS 

l> OS 










o 


t^ 


CN "3 rH b- 










CO 




t>>_ Tf4 rH 










CN 


OS 


















CO" CN 
-* CO 










^ 












f. 


r- «- t- 




CD 


q u- 


t»4 • 

co ; 






5 


O O OS 


"o 








CN 


«5 (O^i 




OS 


' 






t^ CO rH rH 






^ CN 








os os* © oo" 


^4* 












t>. CN 


t> 




















rH 00 . 




T*4 


"r 


*" ?• 00 CN 




iO 


00 c 






tK 


IT 


i-i co co 


^4 




(NO.. 




CO 


<N 


CO t^ OS 


OS 




















CO r- 








c 


O CO CN 


lO* 














CD 


CD 
























c 


o 


■* t> 


IC N iO 


CD 


«# 


C5 CN 


; '. 


O 00 


b- ■* 


CO 00 b- 


CO 




lO r- 








•^ o 


N 00 O 


CO 


















rH 










CC 


; 00 lO CN 


TJ4 




















lO 








O C\ 


. r-4 lO O 


CN 


co 


lO 








O Tt 


. O CD 00 


>o 




CN 








CO cn 


. rJ4 CO io 


co_ 


os 










CC 


• 1-7 CN ,o 

• CN CO ^ 


CN* 

CD 


CN 


^ 






„, 


l> o 


! Tf CO O O H 


co ic 




C 






CO 


OS c 


. CO IN rJ4 OS OS 


CN CN 


OS 


IM 






*~] 


i-l <M 


. OS 00 00 00 lO 


CO 












CC 


; o" o" ^ cn t-7 

'« H (0 


•* 




O C 








CO CM 


. ob co co rti o 


00 t^. 




<N -* 


\ * 






t}4 rf 


. ,_| os lO o o 


TJ4 T}4 












CM v. 


. IN O N 00 "3 


rH Tt4 


OS 


























it 


'.**£ ^ °°" ^ 


TJ4 
CO 




>o t> 








m i- 


. » t^ t^ rH 


. 00 


o 


O CC 






'. CO i-l 


. lO 00 CO OS 


. CO 




<N <N 


'. '. 






co co 


.i-l CN J> O 


. co 


OJ 
























a 


• i* OS rH CN 


• OS 














• rH CO 


• CO 




00 IC 








CO "* 

o 


N ■* "O O . 


; oo 


OS 


OS C 








io to s in 


. «o 


o 

OS 


o 


• • 






; oo co oo cn ; 

• rH* TH" C\f OS" • 


. CO 
• OS* 














• CN rH CN 


• co 




OS T- 








CN r- 


. t» •* f. lO . 


. o 


00 


»D IC 








os oc 


. !> OS CN tJ4 


1> 


o 


CO ■* 


° ] 






rJ4 CM 


. I> CO OJ t- . 


; 5s 


















1-1 


CC 








<tf 


• O 00 rH Tj4 • 

• rH CN 1— 1 


• T}4 

■ <N 




O iC 






lo 


iO tr. 


. O H N if . 


O rH 


t^ 


OS (M 


\ ! 




o 


O rj/ 


. T? H H N . 


CO CD 


o 


CN •*, 








co ic 


. OS rH O CN . 


rjj 


OS 


CC 










• lO H CO N • 

• CN CN 


CD* 
IO 




t- oc 








iO oc 


00 rt< CO lO . 


lO o 


CD 


O cC 








rH Tt< 


. o o >o b- . 




o 


>"H C 








co co 


. I> rf4 CN C0_ . 


o> 


OS 


oc 










• co" CO CO* "* • 

• rH CN 


CN 

00 




IN l> 








co o 


. O , .00 . 


CN » 


lO 


CN iC 








00 ^ 


. N 




o . 


IO rH 


o 

05 


CO 








1-4 l> 
OC 


! «o 

• co" 




CN ; 


>o" 














• CN 






1> 












,_; 






























c3 






























a 






























V 






























o 






























60 






























cu 






























N 






























F-l 






























a> 


























or 




W 


























"C 


• 


























c 




■73 





























fl 




O 
























CB 




a 




















T 


• 


'B 




§ 




















C 


; 


DO 




.5 




















a 




o 


























: 


>> 




>> 






DO 








+. 
g 




; o3 


c 

'5 


'. 


S3 

3 




"3 
"3 
B 






r5 A 




T 

a 

c 


1 
J 


: Is 

03 -+J '!-, 




c 




t* c 
2 a 


« .2 
1 - 


! 


.2 
! 

rC 

P£ 


1 

r- 


s 

a 

if 
*-> 


C 

a: 

i 


c 

a 

r? 





•a 



Ul 


a 









T3 




C 







oo 


I-l 


CD 
>> 


Tt4 



J rt 



^ 



s io 
L? o 
^ 2 



- ^ b rj 



s g 



» "0 



•2 8 o 

■*» ^ CD 

M rH 

-0 S OS 

.2 ° "^ 



? S"ro 



^ L ,?i 



-2 £ '5 >> 



3 <£ 



.a o 

.2 -0 

'S .g 

£ * 

«2 S 



1^ 

X! 



SP 3 O 

>> TJ O 

H OJ 

u ft nrT 
10 -2 "^ 



-o 3 t: ^ 






S, a 



e ^ 42 



O 03 

a fe 
.2 °2 






« o o w 

.§ a o, ■£ 

o w « >s « » 



^ io 8 

O » <» 

ft - S IS 

H ^ M 



114 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Serpentine, in masses intruding metamorphic rocks and sediments 
ranging in age from Archean to Mesozoic, is abundant throughout the 
island of New Caledonia, and chromite invariably is associated with it as 
a minor constituent. Locally, large masses of fairly pure chromite are 
found, generally as lenticular bodies in the serpentine, but locally as 
irregular masses in residual clay derived from the decomposition of the 
serpentine. 

Chromite deposits of three types are known in New Caledonia, as 
follows: Rock chrome, consisting of solid ore bodies in serpentine; 
residual chromite, as irregular bodies or scattered masses, frequently 
disintegrated, in red residual clay derived from the weathering of the 
serpentine; and chrome sand and gravel in surface wash and stream 
deposits. Ores of the first two classes are both important commercially 
in New Caledonia and are both present in most mines. Ores of the last 
named class are not worked. 

Of these New Caledonian deposits, that of Mt. d'Or, in the southern 
part of the island, was the first to be discovered and worked, being found 
by Gamier in 1866. Later the deposits of Ngo Bay and others further 
south were exploited. Production and exportation of New Caledonian 
chromite began in the early 80's and continued in a minor way until 
1902, the production coming mainly from Mt. d'Or and the Ngo Bay 
deposits. 

In 1902, L. Bernheim formed the Soci6te le Chrome, in which French 
capital was largely interested. This company operated mines in the 
northern and southern parts of the island. It developed the Tiebaghi 
deposits near the port of Pagoumene, now among the most important in 
New Cal edonia. The exportation of chromite soon increased, and gradu- 
ally New Caledonian ore replaced Turkish ore in the market. In 191 1 the 
Chrome Co., Ltd., of London, was formed and acquired from the Societe" 
le Chrome the Tiebaghi and other mines. At the same time it acquired 
the right from the Rhodesia Chrome Mines Co., Limited, to market the 
Rhodesian ore, thus securing practically a monopoly of the world's 
chromite trade. The Chrome Co., Ltd., is controlled by French and 
English interests. Chalas & Sons, Finsbury Pavement House, London, 
E. C, are the largest stockholders. There were formerly German stock- 
holders. L. Bernheim does not seem to be associated with the Chrome 
Co., Ltd., but it is said that he still owns chromite deposits in New Cale- 
donia. Besides the operations of the Chrome Co., Ltd., there are a num- 
ber of independent operations in different parts of the island. These 
are mainly under the control of inhabitants of the island. 

Africa. — The important chromite deposits of southern Rhodesia are 
near the town of Selukwe, which is connected by railroad with the ship- 
ping port of Beira. They occur scattered through an area of schist and 
serpentine. One hundred and twenty chromite bodies have been map- 



CHROMIUM 115 

ped out, but the only ones that have been developed are ten closely 
grouped large bodies at Chrome Mine northwest of Selukwe. One of 
the largest bodies is 180 feet wide and 240 feet long. The ores are high 
grade, averaging between 48 and 51 per cent, chromic oxide. 

Recently considerable publicity has been given to the discovery of 
what are reported to be among the largest deposits of high-grade chromite 
in the world in the Umvukwe Hills in the Lomagundi district 30 miles 
from Banket Junction, southern Rhodesia. The ore is said to occur 
over a large area in bodies in serpentine. More than two million tons is 
reported to have been uncovered. The deposits were discovered by 
Albert Peake, of Umvukwe Ranch, and are owned by Peake Brothers, 
who are said to have offered them to the Imperial government on 
special terms. 

Chromite was mined in Rhodesia for the first time in 1905, the ore 
coming from claims near Selukwe held by the Bechuanaland Exploration 
Company, Ltd. Production steadily increased, slowly at first but more 
rapidly after 1910, when the Selukwe mines were taken over by the 
Rhodesia Chrome Mines, Ltd. In 1910 the staking of chromite claims 
in the Hartley district was reported and in 1911 chromite was discovered 
at Victoria. Shipments from Selukwe stopped in August, 1914, after the 
declaration of war, but began in December and increased during 1915 
and 1916. In 1917 the discovery of the large and valuable deposits of 
chromite in the Lomagundi district ^already mentioned) was reported. 
Previous to 1916 the entire production of Rhodesian chromite came from 
the Selukwe mines of the Rhodesia Chrome Mines, Ltd. In 1917, 
however, another company, the Rhodesia Metals Syndicate, Ltd., 
entered the field and is producing important amounts of ore. 

Asia. — 'Before Turkey lost most of her European possessions after the 
Balkan wars, the chromite deposits of the Kossowo, Uskub, and Monastir 
district of Serbia and the Saloniki district of Greece were within her 
borders Now, however, only the deposits of Asia Minor remain to her. 

Chromite deposits are widely scattered through many parts of Asia 
Minor and are said to be numbered by the hundreds. The most impor- 
tant deposits are grouped into three districts: In the regions of Brussa 
and Kutahia south of the Sea of Marmora, where the important Daghardi 
deposits are found; near Macri, Denislu and around the Gulf of Adalia 
in the southwestern part of the peninsula, as well as on the neighboring 
Island of Rhodes ; and near Mersina, Adana, Aleppo, and elsewhere in the 
region around the Gulf of Alexandretta northeast of the Island of Cyprus. 
Smaller deposits are reported in the vilayets of Angora and Kastamuni 
in the north central part of Asia Minor and near Beirut and Damascus 
in Syria. All the ore bodies are found in more or less schistose and de- 
composed serpentine in groups of lenslike or irregular bodies. 

The chromite mines of Asia Minor have produced important quanti- 



116 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

ties of ore. From about 1870, when Turkey began to supplant the 
United States as the world's principal producer of chromite, to near 1900, 
Asia Minor furnished the bulk of the chromite for the world's consumption. 
Most of the ore mined has come from the mines in the Brussa region on 
the south and southwest slopes of the Mysian Olympus and from the 
mines of the Macri region. The Brussa and Kutahia deposits are said to 
have produced an average of about 20,000 tons annually for many years, 
of which the Daghardi mine is said to have furnished nearly three- 
fourths. This deposit consists of high-grade ore averaging 51 to 55 per 
cent, chromic oxide and has been estimated to contain about 10,000,000 
tons of ore. Probably this is somewhat an exaggeration, although 
doubtless the deposit is large and important. 

The chromite mines in the Macri region have furnished a considerable 
part of the output of Asia Minor, but much of the ore mined in recent 
years has been of low grade, running as low as 40 per cent, chromic oxide. 
The chromite near Denislu and that near the Gulf of Adalia, on the other 
hand, is said to be very rich, some deposits containing ore averaging as 
high as 56 per cent, chromic oxide. 

Most of the chromite mines of Asia Minor are probably now under 
the control of the Turkish government, having reverted back ten or 
fifteen years ago when increasing competition of New Caledonia chromite 
in foreign markets resulted in the shutting down of many of the mines. 
The taxes on both worked and undeveloped mineral properties are so heavy 
in Turkey that unless mines are bringing in continuous and substantial 
revenues, they cannot be held by private individuals. 

It has been the policy of Turkey not to allow her mineral properties 
to fall into the hands of foreigners. Even while the exploitation of the 
chromite deposits was most vigorous, therefore, the mines, although in 
many places worked by foreign firms, were largely owned by the Turkish 
government or by Turkish subjects who leased them. Thus in 1904 the 
principal deposits near Brussa were owned by an officer of the Porte 
and were operated by J. W. Whittal & Co., an English firm in Con- 
stantinople, while other deposits in the same district were worked by 
Patterson & Canghellari, an English company located in Smyrna. The 
famous Daghardi deposit, in the Kutahia region, at that time was owned 
by the Turkish minister of marine and was operated by a Turk named 
Raghit Bey. 

In the Macri district, a number of low-grade deposits were in 1904 
under the control of Patterson & Co., of Smyrna, and the mines near 
the Gulf of Adalia were controlled by a French syndicate. Some large 
deposits near Denislu, in the interior, north of Macri, are said to be lying 
undeveloped owing to the refusal of the Turkish government to permit 
mining. 

The chromite deposits in the region surrounding the Gulf of Alexan- 



CHROMIUM 117 

dretta have been worked in a small way both by Turks and foreigners. 
Among operators in the region are mentioned Durian Effendi, a Turk, 
representing the Ottoman Bank; Husni Herikizadeh Effendi, a Turk of 
Adana; Nader Brothers, of Mersina; Alfred Keun & Co. of Smyrna; 
Protopazzi Brothers, of Smyrna, and Mavrommati & Sons, of Mersina, 
both probably Greek firms; Loizides, of Mersina; and Hadji Kemal 
Bey, of Constantinople. Durian Effendi is mentioned also as having 
operated chromite mines near Beirut. 

The most important chromite deposits of India are in the northern 
part of Baluchistan, but the mines of the Madras and Mysore districts 
in southern India have also furnished important amounts of ore. A 
small production has come from Bengal. The deposits of Baluchistan 
are large and the ore is rich, much of it averaging nearly 55 per cent, 
chromic oxide. One deposit is reported to be 440 feet long by 5 feet wide. 
The ore bodies are segregations in serpentine. The problem of transporta- 
tion is difficult, as the ores are far from the coast and land transportation 
facilities are poor. Nevertheless, those mines have made a steady output 
since they were opened in 1903. The largest production was in 1907, 
when the yield exceeded 7,000 tons. Since then there has been a de- 
crease owing to competition from New Caledonia and Rhodesia. 

Chromite ore bodies were exploited in Madras as early as 1861 and 
small amounts of ore were mined intermittently. The ores are associated 
with magnesite veins in serpentine. Since 1907 a steady production is 
recorded from Madras, which has increased recently. Important deposits 
of chromite are found in Mysore. These deposits have produced more 
than 2,000 tons of ore annually in recent years, which is reported to have 
been sent to the United States. The chromite deposits of Bengal are 
said to be small and unimportant. In Bombay a large body of low-grade 
chromite is said to measure 1,000 by 300 feet and to average 34 per cent, 
chromic oxide. 

Before 1910 chromite mining in Japan was sporadic and unimportant, 
but since 1910 the output has been steady and increasing. The principal 
occurrences of chrome ore are in the southwestern part, the mines of 
Wakamatsu, in Hoki, being the most important. The ore is said to 
average about 40 per cent, chromic oxide. Chromite is also reported to 
occur in the northern part of Japan. The Japanese chromite deposits 
are small and soon exhausted. 

The principal chromite deposits of Russia are in the southern part 
of the Ural Mountains and are associated with serpentine and soapstone. 
The deposits are classed under three heads: Large granular masses in 
serpentine, finely disseminated chromite in serpentine, and chromite 
sand in platinum- and gold-bearing placers. The characteristic occur- 
rence of chromite bodies in the Urals is as segregations within areas of 
dunite largely altered to serpentine. Platinum in scattered grains is 



118 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

associated with chromite in the dunite in several places. Recently 
chromite deposits have been reported in the northern part of the Cauca- 
sus Mountains. 

Europe. — The chromite deposits of the Balkan Peninsula may be 
grouped into four main districts: central Serbia; southern Serbia; Salon- 
iki, in eastern Macedonia; and Magnesia, southern Thessaly, and the 
neighboring islands. The chromite deposits are found in serpentine 
derived fron the alteration of peridotite. 

The chromite mines of Serbia and Macedonia for many years furnished 
a small production, credited to European Turkey, which before the last 
Balkan War embraced all the chromite-bearing areas. Many of the 
deposits of central Serbia are poorly situated with reference to trans- 
portation, the ore being hauled on carts to the railroad stations and 
thence by rail to the coast. In eastern Macedonia some of the mines 
are relatively near the coast and the ore is carried on carts to Saloniki. 
The mines of Serbia and Macedonia were worked in part by individuals 
and in part by the same firms which mined the chrome ores of Asia 
Minor, such as Patterson & Co., Whittal & Co., and others. 

The chromite mines of Magnesia, Thessaly, and adjacent islands in 
eastern Greece have furnished a more or less continuous output for the 
last 30 or 40 years. The ore mined, however, has been mainly of low 
grade, most of it averaging between 30 and 40 per cent, chromic oxide. 
It is said to be used largely for refractory purposes. Before 1908 most 
of the Grecian production of chromite came from the mines of Magnesia, 
but more recently the mines of southern Thessaly have furnished most 
of the ore. Mines in the Grecian Archipelago have also furnished some 
ore. The annual output of Greece has varied from a few hundred tons to 
more than 15,000 tons. During the past 20 years it has rarely fallen 
below 5,000 tons. 

Chromiferous iron ore in considerable quantity is mined in Greece, 
most of it being exported. In 19T3 ten or more mines were worked. The 
production has averaged more than 100,000 tons annually. The mines 
are operated in part by Greek and in part by French and British firms. 

The chromic iron ores produced in the former Austrian Empire have 
come mainly from the central part of Bosnia, but the chromite mines in 
Upper Styria and those on the Roumanian border have also furnished an 
appreciable output, the ore being low-grade. The deposits of Bosnia are 
in serpentine. The ore is of good quality and has been mined for use as a 
furnace lining. On and near the left bank of the Danube River in the 
Banat, Hungary, there is an extensive area of serpentine containing 
chromite in bunches. The deposits have been worked to a slight extent. 

North America. — In Canada chromite-bearing areas of considerable 
extent are found in the southern part of the Province of Quebec, where 
nearly all the productive chromite mines of Canada are situated. The 



CHROMIUM 119 

ore occurs in serpentine in irregular masses and pockets without definite 
form, that range in size up to 75 feet along the longer axis, rarely reaching 
100 feet. The amount of high-grade ore in the Quebec chromite deposits 
is not large, but low-grade ore bodies which under normal market condi- 
tions can not be mined at a profit are numerous and of large size. The 
low-grade ores range in content of chromic oxide from less than 20 per 
cent, to 35 or 40 per cent. Nearly all the Canadian ore mined has been 
exported to the United States. From 1910 to 1914 the output of chrome 
ore from the Quebec mines was insignificant, owing to the cost 'of mining 
low-grade ores and the lack of a market for them. When the price of 
chromite rose late in 1914, American firms began active developments 
in the field, and subsequently two concentrators were built by the Mutual 
Chemical Co. The output of Canadian chromite, both of crude ore and 
concentrates, during the war period was noteworthy, the production 
rising from 121 long tons in 1914, to 47,035 long tons in 1916 and 43,725 
long tons in 1917. 

The principal American firms interested in the development of the 
Canadian chromite deposits during the past few years have been the 
Mutual Chemical Co., the Harbison- Walker Refractories Co., the Elec- 
trometallurgical Co., and the Quebec Asbestos & Chrome Co. The 
last-named company purchased one of the concentrators built by the 
Mutual Chemical Co., and has furnished a considerable output both 
of crude ore and concentrates. Canadian firms have also produced con- 
siderable ore. 

With the close of the war and the drop in the price of chromite, the 
Canadian mines have been largely abandoned It is possible, however, 
that some American firms that mine ore for use in their own plants may 
continue work on a small scale. 

When the United States was the world's principal chromite-producing 
country, the output came from the eastern United States and principally 
from Maryland. The Wood chrome mine and neighboring deposits in 
Baltimore and Harford counties furnished most of the production. 
Smaller amounts were mined in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. 

The principal chromite deposits of the United States, and those that 
have furnished nearly all the ore produced in recent years, are in Cali- 
fornia and Oregon. Recently deposits of some extent have been found 
in Montana, but these have not reached the producing stage. The 
chromite deposits of California are for the most part grouped into four 
principal districts, the Klamath Mountains region of northwestern Cali- 
fornia and southwestern Oregon; the Coast Range of west central Cali- 
fornia; the Sierra Nevada range throughout a considerable part of its 
length; and the San Luis Obispo district of southwestern California. 

The chrome ores of California and Oregon form lenses or irregular 
bodies in serpentine and related rocks. Many of the ore bodies are found 



120 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

in comparatively fresh peridotite and dunite, and the intimate relation 
between the chromite and the associated pyroxene or olivine is well shown. 
In places, also, chromite masses are found in the mantle of residual mate- 
rial derived from the alteration of serpentine and other rocks. Most of 
the chrome ores of the Pacific Coast are of low-grade, few running more 
than 45 per cent, chromic oxide. Concentrating plants have been built to 
beneficiate the ore from bodies large enough to warrant such expenditure. 
At some plants the grade of ore was thus raised to more than 52 per 
cent. Locally small bodies of high-grade ore have been found. 

The chromite mines of the eastern United States were first worked 
about 1827 and continued to be operated for about forty years. The 
California deposits began to be developed about 1870, but never furnished 
a large output until the war raised the price of chromite to unprecedented 
figures and ore could be produced at a profit in spite of high costs and high 
freight rates to consuming centers. The chromite mines of the United 
States have always been worked and controlled by American capital. 
In California the ore has been mined mainly by private individuals work- 
ing small scattered deposits. A few large firms, such as the California 
Chrome Co., the Adams & Maltby Co., L. H. Butcher Co., and the 
Union Chrome Co., worked on a larger scale during the war period. 

Deposits of chromite have been known in Alaska for a number of 
years, but not until the war brought high prices was it possible to mine 
them at a profit. The deposits of present importance are near the south- 
western end of the Kenai Peninsula. About 1,000 tons of ore containing 
46 to 49 per cent, chromic oxide was mined in 1917. 

South America, Central America and Cuba. — As far as is known, only 
one chromite-bearing district of importance occurs in South America, 
this being in the State of Bahia, in Brazil. One deposit has been worked 
at this locality by E. J. Lavino & Co., of Philadelphia, and the discovery 
of several neighboring deposits is reported. The first shipments of ore 
were made in February, 1918, and by July 1, 1918, 12,620 tons had been 
sent to the United States. The deposits are said to be owned by New- 
man & Co., a firm of American exporters in Bahia. They are leased 
to E. J. Lavino & Co., of Philadelphia. 

South America, outside of Brazil, has no known chromite deposits of 
importance. In Colombia, chrome ore is reported to exist near Antioquia 
and chromiferous pig iron is said to have been produced by the blast 
furnace near Medellin. In Venezuela, chrome ore is said to occur on 
Coro Peninsula. 

Important chromite deposits lie along the north coast of Cuba in the 
provinces of Camaguey and Oriente. A small deposit is found in the 
northwestern part of the Province of Matanzas. The most important 
deposits in Cuba are those at the Caledonia mine, south of the Bay of 
Nipe and northeast of the Bethlehem Steel Co.'s Mayari iron mines. 



CHROMIUM 121 

These deposits are estimated to contain about 40,000 tons of ore in sight. 
They are owned and worked by the Bethlehem Steel Co., which began ex- 
ploitation in the spring of 1918. Shipments during 1918 amounted to 
8,820 tons. Next in importance to the deposits at the Caledonia mine 
are those along the coast, northeast of Baracoa, known as the Cayoguan 
and Potosi deposits, where about 35,000 tons of ore is estimated to be in 
sight. The deposits are on the north edge of a rugged mountain range 
forming the eastern end of Cuba. The Cayoguan claims are owned by 
Brady interests, American, and the Potosi claims by the Harbison- 
Walker Refractories Co., of Philadelphia. 

In the Province of Camaguey the deposits are found northeast of 
the town of Camaguey. They consist chiefly of masses of ore in residual 
clay and float on the surface. The underlying rock is serpentine. The 
Camaguey deposits are owned in part by Lehigh University and in part 
by Cubans. The estimated reserves are 20,000 tons. 

Exploitation of the chromite deposits of Cuba began in the fall of 
1917 and continued during the spring and summer of 1918. Only the 
Caledonia mine has produced ore. The chromite deposits are all associ- 
ated with areas of serpentine. 

Chromiferous iron ores that are destined to play an important part 
in the American iron and steel industry are found at Mayari, Camaguey, 
and Moa ; along the northeastern coast of Cuba. The reserves are meas- 
ured in hundreds of millions of tons. Only the Mayari deposits are 
mined at present. 

Chromite deposits were developed in the interior of Guatemala in 
1917 and shipments started in the autumn. The deposits were owned 
and operated by the International Railways of Central America, an 
American company, and are situated in the hills 100 miles inland from 
Puerto Barrios. The ore is in serpentine. It is very pure and is especi- 
ally desirable for chemical purposes. The average chromic oxide content 
of the shipments during 1918 was 58 per cent., thus making this the 
highest grade ore that came to the American market. The ore was used 
by the Grasselli Chemical Co. Because of the distance from the rail- 
road, these ores are very expensive to mine, and it was only on account of 
the high prices paid for chromite during the war that they were developed. 

POSITION OF LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS 

The country that leads in the manufacture of chromium products, 
such as ferrochrome and chrome chemicals, is the United States. In nor- 
mal times the United States consumes more than one-third of the annual 
consumption of chromite by the world. In 1913 the chromite used by 
manufacturers of ferrochrome and chrome chemicals in the United States 
amounted to 65,000 tons. Owing to the war, the consumption increased 



122 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

markedly until 1917, when it was nearly 130,000 tons. The normal con- 
sumption of chromite in England is about 25,000 tons and in France ap- 
proximately 35,000 tons. These amounts have not greatly increased in 
recent years. Germany is an important producer of chromium products, 
normally consuming 30,000 tons of chromite annually. Russia and the 
former Austrian Empire used perhaps 5,000 tons each annually. Norway 
and Sweden use small amounts. Russia's consumption has been mainly 
in the manufacture of chromium chemicals, and that of the former 
Austrian Empire was principally for refractory purposes. In Norway 
and Sweden small amounts of ferrochrome are produced. 

United States. — The United States, although the world's largest con- 
sumer of chromite, is not an important producer of this mineral in normal 
times. During the 30 years preceding the war, the annual production 
never exceeded 4,000 long tons of crude ore, and during the last 15 years 
preceding the war the largest annual production was 598 long tons, in 
1909. The production in 1913 was less than 1 per cent, of the domestic 
requirements. 

The chromite supply of the United States has, therefore, come largely 
from foreign sources, and these sources have been mainly Asia Minor, 
Rhodesia, and New Caledonia. Before 1905 Turkey in Asia was the 
principal source of supply. Since then, however, Rhodesia and New 
Caledonia have largely replaced Turkey in the American chrome market. 

Although numerous deposits of chromite occur in the western United 
States and locally in the eastern states, these deposits are usually 
small and scattered or of low grade. On account of their physical 
character, small size, scattered occurrence, or distance from consuming 
centers, domestic chromite could not be furnished to consumers in the 
required grade or for the price that chromite from rich foreign deposits 
could be furnished. For this reason the American chromite deposits re- 
mained undeveloped and no ore was mined except small quantities which 
were consumed for refractory purposes in neighboring metallurgical 
works. 

When in 1914, at the beginning of the war, the price of chromite in- 
creased, production was immediately stimulated, this being shown by the 
rapid increase in output from 591 long tons of crude ore in 1914 to about 
82,350 long tons of crude ore in 1918, equivalent to about 66,554 tons of 
ore on the basis of 50 per cent, chromic oxide. Even this largely in- 
creased domestic output, however, filled only little more than one-half 
of the American requirements, the total amount of chrome ore con- 
sumed in 1918 being about 104,000 long tons on the basis of 50 per cent, 
chromic oxide. Had the market for chromite kept up, however, the 
domestic mines would have supplied a much larger proportion of the re- 
quirements in 1919. The consumption of chromite in the United States 
in 1913 amounted to 65,000 tons of ore containing 50 per cent, chromic 



CHROMIUM 



123 



oxide. From this it rose to about 127,000 tons in 1917, which rep- 
resents the maximum annual consumption thus far. 

The following table shows the production and imports of chromite on 
the basis of 50 per cent, chromic oxide, from 1913 to 1918, as well as the 
total quantity available for consumption for these years. No chromite 
is exported from the United States. 

Table 26. — Production and Imports of Chromite, United States, 1913-1918 





Production 
(long tons) 


Imports 
(long tons) 


Total available 

for consumption 

(long tons) 


1913 


230 


65,180 


65,410 


1914 


530 


74,578 


75,108 


1915 


2,756 


73,762 


76,318 


1916 


39,509 


110,849 


150,358 


1917 


36,729 


64,978 


101,707 


1918 


66,554 


92,678 


159,232 



The prices paid for domestic chromite in the United States in recent 
years ranged from an average of $11.19 per ton in 1913 to an average 
of about $24.00 per ton in 1917. 

When the need of increased shipping was felt in the latter part of 
1917, steps were taken to reduce the imports of chromite from distant 
countries, such as Turkey, New Caledonia, and Rhodesia, to increase 
the imports from nearby sources such as Brazil, Cuba, and Canada, and 
to urge the maximum production from domestic mines. As a result, 
the imports of chromite from Brazil were 17,854 long tons of crude ore 
and from Cuba 8,821 long tons of crude ore in 1918. The only previous 
production in Cuba was 34 long tons in 1916 and 17 long tons in 1917. 
Brazil had no production before 1918. The imports from Canada 
amounted to 20,949 long tons of crude ore in 1918, as compared to 19,021 
long tons of crude ore in 1917, and 12,220 long tons of crude ore in 1916. 
In order to reduce the importation of chromite from countries far over- 
seas, various restrictions were put into effect by the War Trade Board in 
the early part of 1918. 

The development of domestic chromite supplies means the depletion 
of limited resources, high cost of production, use of lower-grade ores, and 
lowered efficiency in consumption. * With the free access of high-grade 
foreign ores, the market for domestic ores, therefore, disappears; and the 
domestic chromite-mining industry can not survive to any large extent. 
If world conservation of raw materials or the best use of the world's 
resources is of chief importance, the domestic chromite-mining industry 
should be allowed to decline, and cheaper and higher-grade foreign ores 
should be allowed to replace domestic chromite. Experience during the 



124 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

past few years has shown that the chromite deposits of the United States, 
supplemented by imports from Canada, Brazil, and Cuba, can largely 
supply the domestic requirements for a limited period. 

The United States controls only a small part of the chromite reserves 
of the world. American firms own the principal Cuban deposits and 
control the Brazilian deposits through leases. The United States is, 
therefore, dependent to a large extent upon the good will of France and 
England for a continuous supply of chrome ore, these two countries 
jointly being largely in control of the chromite reserves of Rhodesia and 
New Caledonia. Turkey controls most, if not all, of the chromite de- 
posits of Asia Minor, but because of their enclosed situation on the 
Mediterranean, these deposits could not be relied upon as a source of 
supply in time of need. The same is true of the deposits of the Ural 
region in Russia. 

The chief chromite- consuming firms in the United States are the 
Electrometallurgical Co., probably the largest producer of ferrochrome 
in the world; the Mutual Chemical Co., and the National Electrolytic 
Co., large producers of chromium chemicals, and the Harbison-Walker 
Refractories Co., American Refractories Co., and various steel-making 
plants, users of chromite for refractory purposes. 

Great Britain. — Before the war Great Britain consumed annually 
about 25,000 tons of chromite, most of it being used by Blackwell & 
Sons, Ltd., for the manufacture of ferrochrome. The ferrochrome made 
in England, however, is not sufficient to supply the needs of the British 
steel industry, and much is imported from France. 

Except for unimportant occurrences in the Shetland Islands there are 
no chromite deposits in the British Isles, and Great Britain is therefore 
dependent entirely upon overseas sources of supply. British colonies, 
on the other hand, are rich in chromite deposits, and as long as British 
ships have freedom of movement on the ocean, they will have access to 
the more important chromite deposits of the world. 

Owing to their richness and large size, the most important of all the 
British-controlled deposits are those of Rhodesia. Only one of many 
deposits in this area is being operated, and the reserves in untouched ore 
bodies are undoubtedly large, comparable perhaps with those of New 
Caledonia. 

The production of the Rhodesian chrome mines has in recent years 
averaged in the neighborhood of 60,000 tons annually or about 35 per 
cent, of the world's production, and doubtless the output could be very 
greatly increased if other known deposits were developed. However, 
even the present production is more than twice the actual chromite 
requirements of Great Britain. These requirements, however, do not 
represent the needs for metallic chromium or chromium compounds, and 
if France should cease to supply Great Britain with ferrochrome, a much 



CHROMIUM 125 

larger amount of the raw material, chromite, would be necessary for the 
English steel industry. 

Besides the chromite deposits of South Africa, chromite deposits of 
importance are found in other British colonies, notably in British India 
and Canada. Amounts of chromite varying from 2,000 tons to 10,000 
tons have been produced annually in British India for many years, com- 
ing mainly from Baluchistan, in the northwestern part, but a small pro- 
duction has come also from Mysore, in the southern part. In early years, 
India furnished a more important part of the world's supply of chromite 
than at present. Transportation is a serious difficulty in the mining of 
these deposits and when New Caledonian and Rhodesian ores became 
developed, the Indian ores dropped in importance. 

The Canadian deposits, while of considerable extent, and having 
ready accessibility to eastern American markets, have not been exten- 
sively or continuously mined, on account of their low-grade character. 
By concentration, a medium high-grade product can be obtained, but 
concentration methods are expensive and bring the cost of the material 
up to such an extent that it can not compete with other ores now on the 
market. Thus, the cost of producing both Indian and Canadian ores is 
such that under normal conditions it is difficult to find a market for them, 
but in case of necessity, a considerable tonnage can be supplied from these 
sources. 

Other British colonies in which deposits of chromite exist are New 
South Wales, Tasmania, and New Zealand. As far as known, the de- 
posits in these countries are small and only those of the first have fur- 
nished a small production. 

Besides controlling chromite deposits in many parts of the world 
through her colonial possessions, Great Britain controls deposits through 
British firms with foreign possessions. Thus, the Chrome Co., Ltd., 
of mixed British and French interests, controls not only the Rhodesian 
chromite output but also owns and controls most of the important New 
Caledonian mines. 

Great Britain has in the past received most of her supplies of chromite 
from Rhodesia, New Caledonia, and Turkey. Although more than 
enough chromite is produced in Rhodesia to supply the British needs, 
England has allowed most of the Rhodesian ore to be exported to other 
countries and has imported foreign ore for part of her own needs. Prob- 
ably the largest part of the Rhodesian output before the war went to the 
United States. Much of the ore consumed in England has come from 
Turkey, where English firms have been interested in chromite mining for 
many years. Most of the Indian output probably has been used in 
Great Britain, but a part has gone to France. 

France. — A few deposits of chromite are known in France, but they 
are of no importance commercially. France, therefore, like England, is 



126 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

entirely dependent upon overseas sources for her chromite supply. 
Unlike England, however, France has only one colony, New Caledonia, 
containing important chromite deposits; but luckily this colony contains 
enough to make it one of the world's principal sources of chromite. 

Although the Chrome Co., Ltd., which controls the principal New 
Caledonian chromite deposits and is the largest shipper, represents 
both English and French capital, France through political means can 
control the output of chromite from the island. While in the past 
probably the major part of the chromite used in France has come from 
this source, France has also used Rhodesian and Turkish ores and prob- 
ably Russian ores to a considerable extent, and much New Caledonian 
ore has gone to Germany, the United States and Great Britain. 

The principal French firms manufacturing ferrochrome are the Societe 
Electrometallurgique Frangaise, at La Praz; Societe La New Metallurgie, 
at Giffre; Societe Anonyme Electrometallurgique, at Albertville; Keller, 
Leleux et Cie, at Livet; Societe Electrometallurgique de Saint Beron, at 
Saint Beron; Ch. Betrolus, at Bellegarde; and Rochette Freres, at Epierre. 

Germany. — Except for unimportant low-grade deposits in Silesia, 
Germany has no chromite supplies within her borders. As a user of 
chromite Germany ranks in importance with France, most of the ore 
consumed being used in the manufacture of ferrochrome, the principal 
manufacturers of which have been the Krupp works. Chrome chemicals 
are also made in abundance, however. None of Germany's former 
colonies is known to have chromite deposits except Togoland, and the 
Togoland deposits are undeveloped and are believed to be unimportant. 

In the past, Germany has received chromite from New Caledonia, 
Rhodesia, Turkey, Greece, and probably Russia. Because of the long 
rail haul from Russia and the poor state of development of the industry in 
Turkey, the ores from these two countries were, in the years immediately 
preceding the war, being largely replaced by ores from overseas. The 
four large chromite-consuming countries have, therefore, all been looking 
mainly to New Caledonia and Rhodesia for their sources of supply. 

During the war, when overseas chromite was not available, Germany 
was enabled by her relations with Turkey to obtain chromite from Asia 
Minor, and probably from chromite mines in Serbia, Hungary, Bosnia, 
and Herzegovina. Thus in time of need, when the usual overseas sources 
of supply were cut off, Germany, through her relations with neighboring 
countries, was able to obtain by land sufficient chromite to supply her 
ordnance requirements. Had the war continued Germany would doubt- 
less have developed the chromite resources of the Urals, and those, to- 
gether with the deposits of Asia Minor, even in their present state of 
development, could have kept Germany supplied indefinitely. 

It is probable that German control became important in the mines of 
Asia Minor during the war. By relatively small improvements in trans- 



CHROMIUM 127 

portation facilities, such as building branch railroad lines to the principal 
deposits, the chromite mines of Asia Minor might be rejuvenated to such 
an extent as to enable the ores to compete with Rhodesian and New 
Caledonian ore and to place them again among the world's large producers. 
The deposits are large and the reserves rank in importance with those of 
Rhodesia and New Caledonia. 

Russia. — Russia is independent as far as her requirements of chromite 
are concerned. Out of her production of about 20,000 tons annually, 
the domestic industry consumes less than one-fourth and the rest is 
available for export to nations less favored with chromite resources. 

Most of the chromite used in Russia goes into the manufacture of 
chrome chemicals. The Russian bichromate works at Elabouga, east 
of Kazan, established in 1892, have consumed about 2,000 tons of ore 
annually. 

SUMMARY 

The political and commercial control of the principal chromite de- 
posits of the world is summarized in the following table : 

Table 27 — Political and Commercial Control of Chromite Deposits 

Predominant 
Country Political control commercial control 

New Caledonia French French- British 

Rhodesia British British . 

Asia Minor Turkish Turkish 

Ural Mountains, Russia .... Russian Russian-British 

Greece Grecian Uncertain 

Serbia Serbian Uncertain 

India British Probably British 

Canada British United States-Canadian 

United States United States United States 

Brazil Brazilian United States 

Cuba Cuban United States 

Japan Japanese Japanese 

Austria- Hungary Austrian Uncertain 

Guatemala Guatemalan United States 

Great Britain and France produce in their colonial possessions chro- 
mite enough for their own needs and for export, but the United States, 
the world's largest consumer, must depend, except in time of extreme 
emergency, upon imports, mainly from New Caledonia and Rhodesia. 

Various countries have from time to time played important roles in 
supplying the world's demand for chromite. One country after another 
has been displaced, as cheaper or better grades of chromite came into the 
market. At times these changes were caused by the finding of larger 
bodies of higher-grade ores than had previously been mined, and at other 
times they were caused by cheaply transported ores replacing ores in- 
conveniently situated with reference to centers of consumption. 



128 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Thus, at the beginning of the nineteenth century and up to about 
1830, the Ural Mountain region of Russia supplied the major part of the 
world's requirements for chromite, which were small. About 1830, 
important discoveries of chromite were made in the eastern United 
States, particularly in Maryland, and the United States soon displaced 
Russia as the leading producer of chromite. After this, for many years, the 
United States continued to lead in chromite production until about 1870, 
when the domestic deposits gradually approached exhaustion and impor- 
tant deposits discovered in European Turkey and Asia Minor began to 
be extensively developed. 

Asia Minor was the principal chromite-producing country from about 
1870 until about the beginning of the twentieth century. The deposits 
continued to be worked fairly steadily on account of their richness and 
large size, although they were inconveniently situated with reference to 
transportation. Only certain deposits, such as those in the Macri and 
Alexandretta regions, were so near to the coast that the ore could be carried 
on muleback or by camel to the shipping ports. From the larger depos- 
its, such as Daghardi, the ore had to be transported by animals to rail- 
road stations, often a distance of many miles, and then by rail to the 
coast. Because of these difficulties, Turkish ore was largely replaced by 
ore from the important New Caledonian and Rhodesian deposits as 
soon as those were developed. 

In New Caledonia labor is cheap and the deposits are all near the 
coast. By means of sailing vessels and tramp steamers which charge 
low rates and often require such heavy materials as chromite for ballast, 
this ore can be delivered to points of consumption at a relatively small 
cost. The Rhodesian chromite deposits are not as accessible from the 
coast, but they are large and rich and the rail freight rates to the shipping 
port are exceptionally low. For this reason, Rhodesian ore has been able 
to successfully compete in the market with New Caledonian ore, and these 
two sources have, therefore, in recent years, jointly supplied most of the 
requirements of the principal nations for chromite. 

During the war, because of abnormal conditions arising from the 
shortage of shipping facilities, there was considerable uncertainty as to 
whether it would be possible to supply American consumers of chromite 
with imported ores. Under the stimulus of much higher prices, the pro- 
duction of chromite in the United States increased from 255 long tons of 
crude chromite in 1913, to about 82,350 tons in 1918, mainly from Cali- 
fornia, Washington and Oregon. This -production was larger than the 
annual production of crude ore from any single source (except 82,910 tons 
from New Caledonia in 1906) since the chromite-mining industry began. 
This production, of course, could not be continued without a rapid deple- 
tion of American chromite reserves, and does not represent a normal 
development. 



CHAPTER VI 

NICKEL 

By C. S. Corbett 
USES OF NICKEL 

Nickel is used chiefly in the manufacture of special steels. It is 
estimated 1 that about 60 per cent, of the entire nickel production goes into 
steel making in normal times and more under war conditions. Nickel 
steels are the most important of all the alloy steels and are the most 
used. 2 They are used where unusual tensile strength is required. 
Nickel- chromium steels are used in the manufacture of armor plate. 

Ordinary nickel steels commonly carry about 3}^ per cent, nickel. 
" Highly nickeliferous steels carrying up to 40 per cent, nickel are used 
for special purposes where non-magnetic qualities, resistance to corrosion 
and, above all, no expansion or contraction, or any desired expansion or 
contraction, with change of temperature, is important." 3 

Non-ferrous nickel alloys have found extensive uses, and probably 
about 20 per cent, of the world's production of nickel goes into them. 
By far the most important are those formed from nickel and copper. 
One, generally known as " cupro-nickel, " contains approximately 80 
per cent, copper and 20 per cent, nickel and is used largely for bullet 
jackets and other munition purposes. Another, which has become 
well known under the trade name "Monel metal," contains 29 per cent, 
copper, 67 per cent, nickel about 2.5 per cent, iron, and a small amount of 
manganese. It is manufactured direct from the Sudbury matte. Monel 
metal is used chiefly where a strong non-corroding metal is needed, as, 
notably, in ship propellers. 

It is estimated that about 2 per cent, of the nickel production is 
used for electro-plating. To a large extent nickel plating prevents 
corrosion of the metal plated. 

Nickel is also used for storage batteries; for coinage; as a catalyser 
in the hardening of oils or fats (solid fats being used for soap making) ; 
for cooking utensils; and as a pigment for coloring ceramic ware. It is 
doubtful whether these last-named uses would take more than 3 per cent, 
of the world's nickel production. 

Copper gives to steel properties somewhat similar to those given 

1 Report of the Royal Ontario Nickel Commission, 1917, p. 300. 

2 Stoughton, Bradley: "The Metallurgy of Iron and Steel, " 1911. 

3 Report of Royal Ontario Nickel Commission, 1917, p. 301. 

9 129 



130 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

by nickel, notably increasing the tensile strength. Silicon also imparts 
similar properties to steel, increasing especially the toughness and tensile 
strength. A considerable proportion of chromium makes steel highly 
non-corroding. There is, however, nothing known that will take the place 
of nickel in special steels having a zero or a predetermined coefficient of 
expansion, such as " invar" or "platinite." 

Nickel possesses extraordinary power in giving its white color to 
alloys of copper; hence its use in coinage. The other white metals that 
might be used in its place are less plentiful and more expensive. There 
is no other abundant metal or alloy having the good color, great 
strength and resistance to corrosion possessed by Monel metal and 
like alloys of nickel and copper. 

Nickel salts are used as substitutes for metals of the platinum group 
as catalysts in hardening oils and fats. 

CHANGES IN PRACTICE 

Production of nickel on a fairly large scale did not begin until the mines 
of New Caledonia were opened in 1875. To handle these ores, smelters 
and refineries were built in England and continental Europe. As the 
ores are of the silicate type and free from copper, they were easily treated 
by common processes of smelting with fluxes to get rid of the gangue and 
then heating with charcoal for reduction to a metallic condition. A 
pure metal was obtained which found a good market. 

Production of nickel-copper ores in the Sudbury district began in 1887. 
On account of the copper with the nickel in these ores, new processes 
of refining had to be worked out and the trade prejudice against the 
product had to be overcome. This took persistent effort for several years. 
Only one of the first companies to operate in the Sudbury district has 
survived to the present time. This is the Canadian Copper Co., the pro- 
ducing subsidiary of the International Nickel Co. 

Three new refining processes have been developed to handle nickel- 
copper ores. The Orford Copper Co. (subsidiary of the International 
company) uses the salt cake process. This process is one of fusion 
with sodium sulphide, the copper sulphide concentrating on top and the 
nickel sulphides at the bottom of the melt. Repeated fusion of the " tops " 
and " bottoms" effects a good separation. 

The Mond company had a process before it had any mines. This 
process depends upon volatilization of the nickel by passing carbon mon- 
oxide over the matte, which has been previously roasted and leached of its 
copper content. Nickel carbonyl, Ni(CO) 4 , is formed and metallic nickel 
is thrown down by decomposition of this product, so that the nickel 
obtained is pure. 

The Hybinette process, a process depending on electrolysis, was first 



NICKEL 131 

worked out at the plant of the Orford Copper Co. on Sudbury matte. 
It was used for low-grade ores at Fredericktown, Mo., and then later 
for the Norwegian ores at Kristiansand. It is to be used in the new 
refinery of the British-American Co. in Ontario. 

Monel metal is made directly from Sudbury matte with the removal of 
a little of the copper. It is known as a natural alloy, in contrast to one 
made by combining the pure metals. 

Increased use of nickeliferous iron ore for steel making will decrease 
the amount of nickel that will have to be added in making such steel. 
This will probably be overbalanced by the increased use of such steels. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

Analyses of igneous rocks indicate that nickel is present in the average 
igneous rock to the extent of 0.020 1 per cent. Of its occurrence, Clarke 
says: 2 "Very frequently detected in igneous rocks, probably as a con- 
stituent of olivine. * * * The presence of nickel is especially char- 
acteristic of magnesian igneous rocks, and it is generally associated in 
them with chromium." Regarding copper he says: "Minute traces 
of this metal are often detected in igneous rocks, although they are 
rarely determined quantitatively.' ' It is estimated 3 that copper is 
present in the average igneous rock to the proportion of about 0.010 
per cent., or only about half that of nickel, and that zinc and lead are 
present in even smaller proportion. Notwithstanding this greater 
abundance of nickel, the workable deposits of copper, lead, and zinc 
are much more widespread and production is correspondingly greater. 
"It can thus be said that nickel is less amenable to concentration by 
the agencies that tend to produce workable deposits than are the other 
metals mentioned (copper, lead and zinc)." 4 

One would infer from the above that nickel deposits of consequence 
would most likely occur in connection with igneous rocks, especially 
those that are basic. This is indeed true; in fact, the only known nickel 
deposits of commercial or prospective commercial value occur in associa- 
tion with basic igneous rocks. The nickeliferous metallographic prov- 
inces of the world may be said to lie within petrographic provinces. 
Harker says: 5 "An examination of the rocks belonging to one great 
period of igneous activity, and of their actual distribution, enables us 
to distinguish areas of greater or less extent, within which the rocks 
present a less or greater degree of consanguinity, the law being that 
more marked specialization goes with narrower localization." On the 

1 F. W. Clarke, "The Data of Geochemistry," Bull. 616, U. S. Geological Survey, 
1916, p. 27. 

2 Ibid., p. 18. 

3 Report of Royal Ontario Nickel Commission, 1917, p. 95. 

4 Ibid. 

5 Harker, Alfred, "The Natural History of Igneous Rocks," 1909, p. 89. 



132 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

basis of this law and the fact noted by Clarke and mentioned above, 
nickeliferous metallographic provinces may be limited more closely 
than simply to areas of basic igneous rocks. They may be said to 
roughly coincide with areas of basic igneous rock characterized by min- 
erals of the olivine group, these minerals having formed as a result of 
the high magnesium content of the rock magma. 

Nickel ores occur where there was an unusual segregation of the 
element in the igneous rock at the time of solidification. In some places 
further concentration by weathering has been necessary to make an ore 
of the rock. In still other places, the concentration by weathering has 
not been sufficient to make the nickel valuable in itself, but has raised 
the iron content of the rock, and with it the nickel content, to such an 
extent as to make the ore valuable in the first instance as an iron ore 
and of additional value because of its nickel content. 

Nickel is unique among the less rare metals in that a single district 
contains a quantity of accessible, workable ore, far ahead of that in 
all other known deposits of the world combined. This is the Sudbury 
district of Ontario. The nickel ores there were segregated from an 
enormous mass of igneous rock intruded under conditions favorable for 
broad segregation and subsequently so eroded that large ore bodies are 
accessible. 

In those nickel ores and nickeliferous iron ores where weathering has 
been a necessary agent in concentrating the nickel and iron enough to 
make them commercially valuable, the original deposits were nickeli- 
ferous igneous rocks — that is, they were similar to the rocks associated 
with the nickel deposits of the sulphide type, but contained much less 
nickel. The nickel-ore deposits of the New Caledonia region, which rank 
next in productiveness to those of the Sudbury district, are of this type. 
The Cuban nickeliferous iron ores best exemplify iron ore deposits of 
this type. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The nickeliferous ore deposits of the world may be divided into two 
main types — the sulphide type, in which weathering has not been of 
prime importance, and the garnierite or lateritic type, in which weather- 
ing has altered and concentrated the nickel as well as the chromium and 
iron of the original rock. In addition, nickel occurs in some places 
with ores of precious and semi-precious metals in veins. Nickel may be 
recovered from such ores as a by-product, but the ores are never mined 
primarily for their nickel content. The brief descriptions of the known 
deposits, grouped according to type, which follow, have been taken from 
the descriptions of the world's nickel deposits in the report of the Royal 
Ontario Nickel Commission. A few direct quotations from the text of the 
report are given. 



NICKEL 133 

Deposits of the Sulphide Type. — The Sudbury district is situated in 
southeastern Ontario, Canada. In its broader outlines the geology of this 
district is relatively simple. An immense mass of nickeliferous rock was 
intruded as a "laccolithic sheet" or sill along an unconformable plane 
of contact between flat-lying sediments and an underlying complex of 
ancient rocks. During the intrusion and cooling, or perhaps soon there- 
after, the underlying rocks of the central part of the laccolith, covering 
the reservoirs from which the magma came, subsided. Long periods of 
erosion then planed down the region until all that is left of the sill occupies 
a synclinal basin nearly 40 miles long and 10 to 15 miles wide. All of 
the rocks involved are of pre-Cambrian age. 

The laccolithic sheet is approximately 10,000 feet thick. It differ- 
entiated on cooling into two kinds of rock — micropegmatite, a rock of 
the granite group, now forming the upper part of the sill, and norite, 
a gabbro rock, the lower part. The gradation between these two 
rocks is rather abrupt. At the bottom of the sill, in some places lying 
between the norite and the underlying rock and at other places entirely 
within the underlying rock, are bodies of ore consisting of pyrrhotite, 
pentlandite and chalcopyrite. These are segregated products of the 
norite, which in some places solidified at the base of the sill and in others 
were intruded as dikes in the underlying rocks or in previously solidified 
portions of the norite. They constitute commercial ore bodies where 
the sulphides form a preponderant part of the rock. 

The ore bodies are classified as " marginal" and " offset." The 
marginal deposits occur along the contact of the norite with the under- 
lying rock. Frequently they lie entirely within the rocks adjacent to 
the norite. The offset deposits occur where faults cut across the limbs 
of the fold, forming zones of weakness into which ore or mineralized 
norite was intruded. 

The nickel-bearing mineral is pentlandite; the copper-bearing, 
chalcopyrite. The other sulphide, pyrrhotite, is a sulphide of iron. 
The ores mined to date average roughly 3.5 per cent, nickel and 2 per 
cent, copper. 

From the opening of the district in 1887 to the end of 1916 nearly 
ten and one-half million tons of Sudbury ore had been mined and smelted ; 
and, from this, about 285,000 tons of nickel had been produced. It 
is estimated that there are probably fully 100,000,000 tons of ore re- 
serves. Over a million and a half tons of ore were mined and smelted 
in 1916. 

The Alexo Mine is situated 150 miles due north of Sudbury. The 
ore occurs at the contact of a large mass of peridotite (now altered to 
serpentine), with a pillow-lava which the peridotite intruded. The 
ore consists of sulphide minerals segregated from the intrusive mass. 
It is of two types, one, a massive, pure sulphide occupying cracks in 



134 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

dike-like relationship, the other, disseminated sulphide in peridotite 
adjacent to the sulphide ore masses. The ore deposit has a proven 
length of 700 feet, has been opened to a depth of 120 feet, and drilling has 
shown ore to extend to a depth of 240 feet. The average width may be 
taken as approximately 10 feet. By the end of 1916, ore had been raised 
to the extent of 34,650 tons and more than that amount had been devel- 
oped. About 12,000 tons of ore were shipped in 1915, averaging about 
4.9 per cent, nickel and 0.6 per cent, copper. Several hundred thousand 
tons are probably available in this deposit. 

The nickel ore deposits of Norway are similar mineralogically to 
those of Sudbury. The deposits are small, their metal content is low, 
and compared to the Sudbury and New Caledonia deposits they are of 
little consequence. Up to 1909 there had been mined and smelted in 
Norway about 400,000 tons of nickel ore. The hand-sorted ore carried 
1.4 to 1.7 per cent, of nickel. 

Deposits like those of Norway have been found in Sweden, but they 
have not been worked in recent years. There is evidently a nickeli- 
ferous metallographic province in the Scandinavian countries and im- 
portant ore deposits may yet be found there. 

In the United States, near Gap, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is 
a deposit of nickel ore of the sulphide type, which occurs as a segregation 
from a 300-ft. dike of amphibolite. It was worked spasmodically for 
copper throughout the 18th century. Nickel was discovered in the ore 
in 1852 and 4,000,000 pounds of nickel are estimated to have been pro- 
duced up to 1882. The advent of New Caledonia and Sudbury ores 
caused the closing of the mine. The ore as mined carried 1 to 3 per 
cent, nickel and about one-third as much copper. 

Near Julian, San Diego County, California, is a sulphide nickel de- 
posit that has never been commercially productive. Assays show the 
ore to contain nearly 3 per cent, nickel or more. 

A small deposit in Tasmania has produced a few thousand tons of 
rich ore. Diamond drilling has shown that little ore remains. 

Nickel-copper sulphides have been found in connection with a large 
intrusive of basic igneous rock in the Insizwa Range, South Ajrica. No 
payable ore has been found. 

Nickel sulphide deposits of unknown importance occur in India and 
in Southwestern China. Small deposits which were worked when nickel 
was scarce occur in Italy, Scotland, Germany and Austria. 

Deposits of the Garnierite and Lateritic Types. — About one-third 
of the surface of the island of New Caledonia is occupied by serpentine, 
this being the weathered product of basic igneous rock. "The ore, 
noumeaite or garnierite, occurs as a hydrated silicate of nickel and magne- 
sia and may best be described as an alteration product of the serpentine 
in which the magnesia and iron have been replaced by nickel. * * * The 



NICKEL 135 

workable deposits always occur on the saddle of spurs from the main 
mountain ridge, at elevations of 400 to 2,500 feet, the latter elevation 
being the more common. * * * The replacement of the serpentine by- 
nickel follows the joints and fractures in the serpentine and the unde- 
composed blocks and boulders of serpentine are as a rule covered by a 
shell of ore which has to be picked off." The ores are hand picked to 
bring them up to a grade profitable to treat. In the past it has not been 
considered economical to smelt ore of lower grade than 4.5 per cent, 
nickel nor to ship ore much below 6.5 per cent. 

The ore bodies usually contain under 250,000 tons of ore. The 
largest mine yet worked produced less than 600,000 metric tons (2,2041b.) 
of ore. Probably there still remains as much undeveloped ore as has 
been mined in the forty years of production, — equivalent to 160,000 tons 
of nickel. This would be equal to about four years' output of the Sud- 
bury district at the 1916 rate of production. " There are large bodies of 
lower-grade ores which it has not yet been found feasible to treat." 

Three large blanket deposits of nickelif erous iron ore occur on elevated 
plateaus in Cuba. These are typical lateritic (residual) deposits. The 
average depth of the ore is 15 feet and the combined tonnage of the three 
deposits is placed at one and one-half to three billion tons. The nickel 
content ranges from about 0.6 per cent, to 2.1 per cent, and shows pro- 
gressive enrichment from the top downward. Chromium is also present 
and shows similar enrichment. The presence of nickel and chromium 
in the iron ores greatly enhances their value for making special steels. 

Iron ore on the island of Seboekoe, lying off the southeast coast of 
Borneo, contains appreciable amounts of nickel and chromium. At 
least 300,000,000 tons of ore are contained in the deposit, which is a porous 
limonite, about 15 feet thick, overlying serpentine. 

In the United States, nickel deposits of the garnierite type occur in 
North Carolina and Oregon. Attempts to mine these ores have never 
been successful. 

Small nickel deposits of the garnierite type occur in Egypt, Germany 
(Prussian Silesia), Greece, Madagascar, Russia and Spain. Nickelif er- 
ous iron ores occur in Greece, and it is thought that chromiferous iron 
ores on Mindao Island, in the Philippines, may, on further exploration, 
prove to be nickelif erous. 

Nickel in Veins. — Nickel occurs with other metals, precious or semi- 
precious, in some vein deposits and is recovered as a by-product in the 
treatment of ores from them. It is notably present in the deposits at 
Cobalt, Ontario, and has been found in vein deposits in the United States, 
France, Germany, Austria, Mexico and South America. Several hundred 
tons are recovered annually in the refining of copper produced in the 
United States. 

Related to the vein deposit type of nickel-bearing ore are the galena 



136 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



deposits disseminated through dolomite in southeastern Missouri. 
Iron, copper, nickel, and cobalt sulphides occur with the galena. Years 
ago nickel was recovered electrolytically from matte from these ores 

DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL 

DISTRIBUTION 

In 1900 New Caledonia supplied 65 per cent, of the world's production 
and Ontario 35 per cent. Since then the world's production has increased 
six-fold, and Ontario, by the end of 1916, was producing 80 per cent, of 
the whole. This shows the trend of the industry. Recent discoveries 



J5.000 



30,000 



15,000 



* 20,000 



o 

£ 15,000 



10,000 



5,000 





























Solfa coiumns^on tar/o 












Open » =tiew Ca/ecronia 








































































































































































































































































































































































































































_^ 




































■ 
























_ _ 






■ 
























■ 






1 






■ 
























I 






I 






I 

























1890 



1895 



1900 



1905 



1910 



1915 



Fig. 7. 



-Refined nickel produced from the ores of New Caledonia and Ontario, for five- 
year periods; the amounts are for the calendar year indicated. 



of ore in the Sudbury district and construction of new smelters and refin- 
eries in Ontario to treat the ores indicate an increasing dominance of the 
industry by that district. New Caledonia has not the large ore bodies 
and is too far away to compete favorably with Ontario, though work 
will continue there. 

Statistics of production and ore reserves in Ontario and New Cale- 
donia are shown graphically in figures 7 and 8. 

Isolated nickel ore bodies of the sulphide type — that is, segregations 
from basic igneous rocks, as at Sudbury — have been found in a number 
of widely separated places. There is a distinct probability that others 
exist and may be discovered. Such undiscovered deposits might even 



NICKEL 



137 



contain more accessible ore, in the aggregate, than the total of the mined 
and unmined ores of the Sudbury district, but in the light of present 
knowledge this seems a remote possibility. 

Other deposits of the New Caledonian and Cuban types will probably 
be discovered, but it is doubtful if as large deposits of those types remain 
to be found. In these the nickel has remained in the material left as 
residuum from the partial or complete weathering by solution of the 



TOTAL tilCKEL 
MEW CALEDOMA 



Reserves ofMinable Ore 
I 1 



Total 
Production 
Mi Content 
/6q000±Tons 



Mi Content I6Q 000*Tons 



NORWEG/AM 
PROPUCTIOM 



□ 



tii 900 0± Tons 



Reserves 
Unknown 



scale: j =100,000 Tons 



TOTAL NICKEL 
SUDBURY DISTRICT 



RESERVES OE MtliABLE ORE 



Total Production \ 

t/i Content 
Z84, 838± Tons 



/V/ Content 3,000,0 00 ± Tons 



Fig. 8. 



-Nickel production, and nickel content of reserves, in Ontario, New Caledonia, and 

Norway. 



original nickeliferous rock. This material lies at the surface and covers 
relatively broad areas. Bodies of it are therefore not usually difficult 
of discovery. They seem to be found most abundantly in warm latitudes, 
where solution weathering has most easily gone on under conditions 
favorable for preservation of the residuum. 

The present known nickel and nickeliferous iron-ore deposits indicate 
roughly the locations of perhaps all or nearly all of the nickeliferous 
metallographic provinces of the world. It is in these provinces that new 
deposits are most likely to be found. The wide-spread distribution of 



138 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

these provinces is indicated by the following statement in the Report of 
the Ontario Nickel Commission: 

While competition is not to be feared (that is, for Ontario), it would be futile 
to try to shut off the supply of nickel from almost any of the great nations. * * * 
Nearly every important country has supplies of nickel ore which can be worked 
if the demand is great, thus ensuring a high price. 

It is thought probable that the nickeliferous metallographic province 
of eastern Canada, which includes the Sudbury district, contains the 
greatest unknown nickel deposits, just as it contains the greatest known 
one, and this for three reasons. The first and most obvious reason is 
that the great nickel-ore bodies of the Sudbury district, the isolated Alexo 
ore body, 150 miles north of the district, and the appreciable content of 
nickel in the veins of the Cobalt and other districts near by, indicate an 
unusually large nickel content in the original magma from which the 
basic igneous rocks were derived. The second reason is that the mantle 
of glacial drift effectively conceals large areas of underlying rock and 
prevents easy discovery. The third is that the wild and unsettled nature 
of the country inhibits the human activities whereby accidental or other 
discoveries would be made. 

POLITICAL CONTROL 

The Sudbury nickel deposits and the Alexo ore body in eastern On- 
tario are under the political control of the British Empire; the New Cale- 
donian nickel deposits are controlled politically by France, New Cale- 
donia being a French colony; and the nickel deposits of Norway and 
Cuba are under the political control of those governments. The other 
deposits of the world, as has been noted, are commercially unimportant. 

COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

Ownership of mines and undeveloped ore bodies in the Sudbury dis- 
trict is divided between British and American interests. There are two 
companies producing ore at the present time and a third is expected to 
begin producing soon. 

The first large company in the field was the Canadian Copper Co. 
This is a subsidiary of the Internationl Nickel Co., over 90 per cent, of 
the stock of which is held in the United States. The Canadian Copper 
Co. owns the following mines: Copper Cliff, Evans, Stobie, Crean Hill, 
Vermilion, Creighton, No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6. Four 
of these were being worked in 1917 — the Crean Hill, Vermilion, Creighton 
and No. 2. In December, 1916, the president of the Canadian Copper 
Co. gave the following estimates of reserves of payable ore in three prop- 
erties of that company: 10,000,000 tons in the Creighton; 2,000,000 
tons in Crean Hill; and 45,000,000 tons in No. 3. 



NICKEL 139 

The Mond Nickel Co. is controlled by British interests. It owns the 
following mines: Garson, Worthington, Levack, Victoria and Kirkwood. 
The Levack has proven reserves of good ore amounting to 4,500,000 
tons. The reserves of the other mines are not given. 

The British-America Nickel Corporation, Ltd., has $20,000,000 of 
common stock, of which $14,500,000 is held by the British government 
in the name of Alan Anderson, trustee. By the end of 1916, this com- 
pany had 11,000,000 tons of workable ore blocked out. Its mines are 
the Murray, Gertrude, Elsie, Blue Lake and Frood Extension. The 
reserves of the Murray alone are put at 9,000,000 tons. 

In the southeastern part of the district an ore body 7,500 feet long, 
10 to 120 feet thick, and extending to a depth of 1,020 feet in one place 
at least, has been found recently in diamond drilling operations by the 
E. J. Longyear Co., of Minneapolis. This company and its associates, 
all American, control the ore body. The ore tonnage of this deposit 
is estimated at 6,000,000 tons above the 500-ft. level. A few drill holes 
have gone to greater depths and found ore. It is not possible to esti- 
mate the reserves of this deposit below the 500-ft. depth. 

The Alexo Mining Co. Ltd., which is mining the Alexo ore deposit 
north of the Sudbury district, is a Canadian concern. An estimate of the 
quantity of ore in this deposit is not available, but the deposit is small 
compared to that of the Sudbury district. The total may be several 
hundred thousand tons. 

The largest and most important owners of nickel-holding lands in New 
Caledonia, in relative order of the importance of their holdings, are: (1) La 
Societe* le Nickel, a company which has been mining in the island for many 
years. (2) The International Nickel Co., represented in New Caledonia by its 
two subsidiary companies, The Nickel Corporation and La Societe Miniere 
Caledonienne. The International does not mine in the island, but some of its 
lands are worked on lease by persons associated with La Societe le Nickel. (3) 
Les Hauts-Fourneaux de Noumea. 1 

La Societe le Nickel was under control of the Rothschilds of France 
at the time of the discovery of the Sudbury deposits. Mr. F. E. Merry, 
an English metallurgist, in testifying to the Ontario Nickel Commission, 
reported that Germans were in control of the company at the outbreak 
of the war. The German firm of Krupp had also acquired some nickel 
property in New Caledonia. 

The International Nickel Co., the second largest holder of New 
Caledonian nickel lands, is the same American firm which owns the 
Canadian Copper Co. 

Les Hauts-Fourneaux de Noumea is owned, at least since the outbreak 
of the war, by French interests. 

According to Mr. Merry, the nickel mines and smelters of Norway 

1 Report of Ontario Nickel Commission, 1917, p. 253. 



140 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

were also mainly in control of the same German group that had gotten 
control of Le Nickel. It worked under the name "Metallgesellschaft." 
One mine and smelter reopened recently were under English control. 

The nickeliferous iron ores of Cuba are owned entirely by American 
companies, principally by steel manufacturing companies, notably the 
Bethlehem Steel Co. 

All three companies producing or about to produce nickel in the 
Sudbury district own their own smelting and refining plants. The 
International has been smelting its ore in Canada and refining it in 
the United States. It has a new refinery at Port Colborne, Ontario. 
The Mond Nickel Co. which smelts in Canada and refines in England, 
has started a refinery in Canada. The British-American Nickel Cor- 
poration has built both a smelter and a refinery in Canada. 

The United States Nickel Co. operates a refinery at New Brunswick, 
New Jersey. Les Hauts-Fourneaux de Noumea and this company 
belong to the same interests. They have a smelter at Noumea, New 
Caledonia; also a refinery at Havre, France. 

La Societe le Nickel has a smelter at Thio, New Caledonia, and re- 
fineries at Havre, France, and Erdington and Kirkintilloch, British Isles. 

No one refining process dominates the nickel industry of the world. 
The two companies producing nickel from Sudbury ores are using en- 
tirely different refining processes, which they individually control; and the 
British- America concern, soon to begin producing, will use a third process, 
the Hybinette, an electrolytic process on which it has exclusive rights 
for North America. The Orford Copper Co., subsidiary of the Inter- 
national, uses what is known as the "salt-cake" process, but it also 
produces some nickel electrolytically. 

The process of the United States Nickel Co. at New Brunswick, 
New Jersey, being one of fluxing and reducing from matte produced at 
the Noumea smelter, is not adaptable to copper-bearing sulphide ores. 

The ores produced in Norway are smelted and refined in Norway by 
the Hybinette process. 

Obviously the nickel resources of the world are controlled by a few 
companies. The chief one is the International Nickel Co., which has the 
largest holdings at Sudbury, and the second largest holdings in New 
Caledonia. The Mond and the British-America are the next most im- 
portant, and La Societe le Nickel is fourth in importance. E.J. Longyear 
Co. and associates do not aspire to become producers of nickel and are in 
the market to sell their properties. For a new concern to succeed it 
would have to develop a refining process of its own. The alternative 
would be for it to sell out to or merge itself with a firm that controls a 
refining process. There are no custom smelters or refineries in America. 
The Mond company buys the Alexo ore because its high magnesium 
content makes it a good fluxing material in smelting Sudbury ores. 



NICKEL 141 

POSITION OF THE LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS 

United States. — Though the United States has insignificant deposits 
of nickel ore and therefore exerts little or no political control over nickel 
mining, American capital plays an important if not the leading role in 
the industry. Of the four companies holding the deposits of the Sudbury 
district two are American, and these two possess what are doubtless the 
largest reserves there. One of these, the International Nickel Co., has 
the next to the largest holdings in New Caledonia. 

Great Britain. — Of all nations Great Britain is in the strongest position 
politically with respect to the nickel industry, because of the Sudbury 
district being in Canada. It has used this control in an endeavor to 
localize the business of refining Ontario nickel ores in Canada, with the 
result that the International Nickel Co. is to transfer its refining opera- 
tions from New Jersey to its new refinery in Ontario. 

Commercially, British capital controls the two other companies 
having holdings at Sudbury. In one of these, — the British-America 
Nickel Corporation, — the government itself has a controlling interest. 

The policy of the British government with relation to the Sudbury 
nickel ores, which give the British an overwhelmingly dominant political 
control over the world's nickel, is highly significant as showing that the 
government is aware of the necessity for commercial as well as political 
control, in order to reap all the commercial and strategic advantages of 
its good fortune. During the war, and before the United States entered, 
great feeling was roused in Canada and England by the German sub- 
marine, Deutschlandj loading at New York a cargo that consisted partly 
of metallic nickel, it being assumed that this was originally Canadian 
nickel. The direct participation of the British government in the 
Sudbury industry in such a way as to make the government practically 
the dominant factor, and the transfer of the refinery operations of the 
American-owned International Nickel Co. from New Jersey to Ontario, 
mark a vigorous and aggressive nationalistic policy which has attained 
its object without much delay. 

France. — 'France owns the island of New Caledonia and has political 
control of the nickel deposits there. Two of the three principal com- 
panies holding New Caledonian ore deposits are presumably held by 
French interests. The larger one, La Societe le Nickel, was for a long 
time controlled by the Rothschilds of France. It was reported later 
to have gotten into German hands. 

Germany. — Germany exercises political control over no important 
nickel deposits. Before the war the German firm of Krupp had 
obtained some New Caledonian nickel properties. A German group, 
the Metallgesellschaft, is reported to have had control of La Societe 
le Nickel at the outbreak of the war, and also the mines and smelters 
of Norway. 



CHAPTER VII 
TUNGSTEN 

By Frank L. Hess 
USES OF TUNGSTEN 1 

The essential uses of tungsten are as an alloy in high-speed tool steel, 
for the making of filaments for incandescent lamps, for targets and cath- 
odes of Roentgen ("X") ray tubes, and for electric contacts for explo- 
sion engines or wherever an intermittent electric contact is needed. 
Other uses are in saw and some other steels, as a constituent of stellite, in 
a tungsten-iron alloy for valves in automobile and airplane engines, for 
kenotrons and similar instruments, in a manganese-chromium-tungsten- 
iron alloy for wire-drawing dies, in wire cloth, luminescent screens for 
Roentgen ("X") rays, mordants and minor chemicals. 

Substitutes. — The use of tungsten in high-speed steels is as standard 
as the use of yeast in bread, and, though assiduously sought, no substitute 
is known that satisfactorily takes its place. According to report, in 
England and France molybdenum has been used to replace about half 
of the tungsten in some high-speed tool steels, but this is seemingly not a 
preferred method, being used only when the obtaining of tungsten is 
difficult. In the United States the practice has had few sponsors. The 
following quotation from the Mining Journal (London) for May 25, 
1918, p. 318, shows that this sentiment is not unknown abroad: 

The manufacture of ferromolybdenum is stated to have been commenced 
in Sweden, where the lack of ferrotungsten has forced the employment of this 
substitute. 

During 1917, 104 (metric?) tons of molybdenite was shipped from 
Norway to Germany, where it probably was used as in Sweden. 
Henry E. Wood reported finding molybdenum in the steel of a German 
helmet. When tungsten was at the excessively high price of early 1916, 
many experiments were made to find a substitute, but apparently with- 
out full success, although lately several substitute steels containing 
cobalt and chromium and especially intended for cast milling-cutters 
and other multiple-edged tools have been placed on the market and a 
cobalt-chromium-molybdenum steel and a uranium steel have been 
offered for lathe tools. Stellite, the cobalt-chromium-tungsten alloy, in 

x Unless otherwise noted, the short ton of 2,000 pounds is used throughout this 
chapter and "tungsten ore" means materials carrying 60 per cent. WO3. 

142 



TUNGSTEN 143 

which there is only one-third to one-half as much tungsten as is used in 
high-speed steel, has grown in favor, and cooperite, a nickel-zirconium 
alloy, is also a competitor, but the trade in the combined list has made no 
appreciable impression on the demand for tungsten steels. 

A change in the manner of using tungsten steel, by which a thin plate 
of high-speed steel is cemented to a more ordinary steel bar so as to 
form the cutting edge of a lathe tool, has made the demand for tungsten 
less than it would have been had the old practice been followed of making 
the whole tool of high-speed steel. 

CHANGES IN PRACTICE 

No startling changes of practice in the metallurgy of tungsten are 
known to have taken place, but there has been a steady betterment of the 
art, improvement in the quality of ferrotungsten, a shifting in localities 
of reduction, and a considerable change in the manner of use. The waste- 
ful, lazy demand for ores of high concentration and of great purity com- 
mon before the war has given way before more enlightened and intelli- 
gent practice, until firms both in this country and in England make a 
specialty of using low-grade or impure ores, though seemingly much more 
advance has been made here than abroad. One firm, the Chemical 
Products Co. (Washington, D. C.) was organized specifically to buy ores 
carrying less than the 60 per cent, tungsten trioxide (W0 3 ) demanded by 
other American firms, and ores containing sulphur, copper, arsenic, bis- 
muth, tin, antimony, phosphorus, or other impurities to which most users 
objected. Two firms, the Black Metal Reduction Co., and the Tungsten 
Products Co., both of Boulder, Colorado, were organized to handle 
materials such as tailings carrying as little as 1 per cent, tungsten triox- 
ide, and they said that they were able to pay for gold and silver in the 
ore. 

Several firms make tungsten trioxide or tungstic acid (H 2 W0 4 ) for 
ferrotungsten makers. Firms have also made artificial scheelite (CaW0 4 ) 
for the same trade, using off-color ores in the process. Powdered ferro- 
tungsten made by chemically precipitating an iron tungsten salt from 
solution and reducing it to a metallic powder carrying 4 to 11 per cent, 
iron has been produced by several firms and seems to have started a 
demand for powdered ferrotungsten, so that firms are now finely grinding 
the massive ferrotungsten. Claims for better furnace practice which 
greatly cuts down the consumption of current and makes a saving of 90 
to 96 per cent, instead of the usual 80 per cent, are also made. Several 
firms are making ferrotungsten powder and tungsten powder in iron 
tubes or other iron containers instead of in the graphite crucibles used 
before the war. 

In the milling of tungsten ores, the tendency in this country is to get 



144 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

away from the uneconomic method of making concentrates very high in 
tungsten trioxide (carrying more than 60 per cent. W0 3 ). ■ Few operators 
really know what the heads run, and the determination of losses is mere 
guesswork. Some of the most careful operators in the Boulder field 
before closing down at the beginning of 1919 were making a high-grade 
product carrying nearer 50 per cent, than 60 per cent, tungsten trioxide, 
and a lower grade product carrying about 20 per cent, tungsten tri- 
oxide, not attempting to raise its tenor. This practice cuts down the 
losses largely. When the great shortage of tungsten ore came in 1916, 
users were compelled to take lower grade concentrates, and some im- 
proved their metallurgy accordingly. This change has made the sale 
of 50 per cent, concentrates easier. Even in England, 60 to 65 per cent, 
ores were accepted where formerly a content of 67.5 per cent, or 70 per 
cent. W0 3 was demanded. 

Formerly scheelite sold 50 cents per unit below other tungsten min- 
erals, even though freer from bothersome impurities, but with the gradua- 
tion from rule-of-thumb methods to more thoughtful, careful and scien- 
tific practice, it came to command a premium. Huebnerite seems to 
be still sold with and as "wolfram" in England, but in this country it must 
be sold according to its composition, for to most metallurgists the manga- 
nese is undesirable, though at least one firm now makes ferrotungsten 
from huebnerite without prejudice or difficulty. This growth in knowl- 
edge and technique has caused the price of the tungsten minerals to 
rank about as follows in the order named: Scheelite, ferberite, wolfra- 
mite and huebnerite. This applies to tungsten used in the manufacture 
of tungsten and ferrotungsten for steel making. Scheelite is not wanted 
in this country for making filaments. 

Before the war the United States imported considerable quantities of 
German ferrotungsten, but metallurgists claim that the ferrotungsten 
now made in this country is superior to any from Germany. For the 
present, of course, the German export trade is dead. England, formerly 
a small producer, is now making large quantities of ferrotungsten and 
tungsten powder at a number of plants. One of the producers, the 
High Speed Steel Alloys, Ltd., Widnes, near Liverpool, "is under 
government assistance and is owned by 31 of the leading consumers of 
Sheffield." 1 The article quoted stated that the output was at the rate of 
500 tons of tungsten per annum. The Thermo-Electric Ore Reduction 
Corporation, 2 Luton, was at the same time producing 140 tons of tungsten 

1 Mining Journal, London. "High Speed Steel Alloys, Ltd., Visit of Inspection 
to the Works," vol. 115, Nov. 25, 1916, p. 779. 

Julius L. F. Vogel has since written an article (Min. Jour., London, vol. 20, p. 16, 
Jan., 1919) in which he says that government aid, though proffered, was not accepted. 
This statement confirms the government policy. 

2 Mining Journal. "Thermo-Electric Ore Reduction Corporation, Ltd., Visit to 
the Luton Works," vol. 115, p. 797, Dec. 2, 1916. 



TUNGSTEN 145 

per month. The ferro produced carried 80 per cent, and the powder 98 
per cent, of metallic tungsten. Only one company in the United States 
was producing as much as 60 tons of tungsten per month during the same 
war period. The Thermo Electric Ore Reduction Corporation owned 
mines from which it expected to produce each year 4,000 long tons of 
concentrates carrying 65 per cent, tungstic oxide. There are at least 
seven other manufacturers of tungsten or ferrotungsten in England. 

France had a number of ferrotungsten plants before the war, and 
these are thought to be still in operation. 

At the beginning of the war about half of the tungsten used in the 
United States was introduced into steel in the form of ferrotungsten and 
about half in the form of tungsten powder. This practice has changed, so 
that now more than three-fourths of the tungsten used is introduced 
as ferrotungsten, largely, it seems, because of the ferro being now manu- 
factured in purer form and partly because tungsten powder could not be 
obtained for a while. At one time tungsten ores were put in the charge 
and the tungsten alloyed directly with the steel; in fact, tungsten steels 
were first made in this way, although the process was patented in this 
country as new. The practice seems to have been dropped because 
of the introduction into the steel of impurities that may be eliminated 
when tungsten or ferrotungsten is made first. 

In the making of tungsten steels a considerable change has taken 
place through the increased use of the electric furnace. One considerable 
producer, the Latrobe Electric Steel Co., makes all of its high-speed tool 
steel in this way. The Vanadium Alloys Steel Co., one of the larger pro- 
ducers, makes a large part of its steel in the electric furnace, and the 
Crucible Steel Co. and some other steel companies are understood to 
make a part or all of their steels thus. 

The removal of tin, copper and other impurities from ferrotungsten 
by grinding and chemical treatment has made possible the use of impure 
ores in the production of high-grade ferrotungsten in the electric furnace. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

Tungsten, even more than tin, is found almost exclusively with gran- 
itic rocks. In a few places tungsten ores are found in volcanic, sedimen- 
tary or metamorphic rocks, but as is postulated with certain tin deposits, 
many of these deposits may be explained on the supposition that they 
are not far vertically above underlying granite. 

Among the deposits themselves there is a considerable variety of 
types, and they may be classed as follows: Segregation deposits, pegma- 
tite dikes, veins, replacement deposits, contact metamorphic deposits 
and placers. 

Segregation deposits are few and of little importance and constitute 
those deposits in which wolframite is segregated in granite, like biotite 

10 



146 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

or hornblende. A closely related type is the occurrence of tungsten 
minerals in aplitic granite, and this grades almost insensibly into the second 
type, the pegmatites. 

The pegmatites are also of comparatively small importance, but do 
yield certain quantities of tungsten minerals. The pegmatites also grade 
into the next type, the veins, which have heretofore furnished the greater 
part of the tungsten minerals of the world. Closely connected with the 
veins are the fourth type, replacement deposits, in which the country 
rocks alongside the veins, though the veins may be very small, are re- 
placed by various minerals, including those of tungsten. The only known 
large examples are the wolframite deposits near Lead, South Dakota, 
which were considerable producers under the high prices of the Great 
War. 

Among the replacement deposits are to be noted also such deposits 
as those in the Deep Creek Mountains, Utah, in which solutions follow- 
ing cracks in monzonite have replaced the rock with a mass of feldspar, 
quartz, tourmaline, apatite, scheelite, wolframite (very little), bismuth, 
copper, and molybdenum minerals, which under other conditions would 
be unhesitatingly called pegmatite. 

Closely related to the replacement deposits are the contact metamor- 
phic deposits, the fifth type. These only recently have begun to be of 
commercial importance, but promise to be among the greatest, if not the 
greatest, producers of this country and possibly of other countries. They 
are of the familiar kind — limestones or limey rocks which have been 
invaded by granites bringing large quantities of watery or gaseous solu- 
tions of silicon, iron, aluminum and magnesium, with less chlorine, 
fluorine, potash and sulphur, and, in this case, tungsten. In the Great 
Basin broad areas of limestone, extending from northwestern Utah to the 
Sierra Nevadas and around their southern extremity, have been thus 
intruded and metamorphosed. Some large deposits of scheelite have 
already been exploited in the region and others remain to be worked. 
Similar deposits occur in Korea, Japan and Tasmania, and probably ex- 
ist, though as yet undiscovered, in China, the Malay Peninsula and other 
countries. The tungsten mineral in such deposits is invariably scheelite. 

Placers, the sixth type, are formed from all grades of deposits, but 
their value depends largely on local conditions. They are both residual 
and nuviatile deposits and have been large producers of tungsten min- 
erals, especially of wolframite. A very large proportion of the Burmese 
output has been from semi-residual and stream placers, and the Chinese 
output in 1918, the largest ever made by any country in one year, was 
almost wholly from placers. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The distribution of tungsten ores is far from being as wide as the dis- 
tribution of the granitic rocks, and some regions with large areas of 



TUNGSTEN 147 

granite have almost no tungsten minerals. Among such regions are the 
Scandinavian peninsula, large stretches of Canada, the eastern United 
States, and Brazil. 

The world's known large tungsten fields are grouped along the shores 
of the Pacific Ocean — not always close to it, but somewhere in the great 
mountain masses paralleling its margin, and the western shore is much 
richer than the eastern shore. In 1918, fully 92 per cent, of the world's 
tungsten came from the shores of the Pacific, 61 per cent, coming from 
Asia, Australia, and Oceania, and 31 per cent, from North America 
and South America. Eastern Asia alone furnished 56 per cent. There 
is only one considerable tungsten- bearing area not situated close to 
the Pacific, that of the Iberian Peninsula, mostly in Portugal but 
partly in Spain. Of the less than 8 per cent, not produced around 
the Pacific, that area yielded nearly 5 per cent. There are, of course, 
small deposits in England, Germany and other places near the Atlantic, 
but together they produce less than 3 per cent, of the world's tungsten 
ores. The huge continent of Africa has only negligible known deposits; 
none of consequence are found on the borders of the Arctic, Antarctic 
or Indian oceans except along the narrow Malay Peninsula dividing 
the Indian and Pacific oceans, and only minor deposits are known in 
Siberia. 

Considered as a single metallogenic province, the region making by 
far the greatest production is in southeastern Asia; it includes the Malay 
Peninsula, Burma, the Shan States, Siam, Tonkin, and southeastern 
China. The second largest producing metallogenic province is the Cordil- 
leran, including Bolivia and the adjacent closely related areas of Peru, 
Argentina and Chile, to which the United States and Mexico would be a 
close third. 1 Portugal, Spain and Italy form the fourth province, to 
which are closely related the Cornish-French producing areas. Australia, 
including Tasmania, is next in importance and is a distinct province, 
practically all the ores being found in the ranges of the eastern side of the 
continent. Japan and Korea also form a rather distinct province which 
may continue into Manchuria. Mexico, as has been indicated, should 
be included in the same province as the western United States. There 
are numerous small more or less isolated areas, like Connecticut, Nova 
Scotia, Manitoba, etc., that are at present of little importance and give 
no promise of future greatness. 

PRODUCTION BY COUNTRIES 

The world's production of tungsten ores by metallogenic provinces 
and political areas is shown in the following table: 

1 It may be quite justly objected that the idea of a metallogenic province is con- 
siderably stretched to include the Boulder and Black Hills deposits with those of the 
southwestern states and Mexico, but for convenience they are here so grouped — with 
a frank confession of the license taken. 



148 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



Table 28. — The World's Production of Tungsten Ore, 1913 to 1918, by Metal- 
logenic Provinces and Political Areas 

In short tons (2,000 pounds) of concentrates containing 60 per cent. WO3. 



Province and area 


1913 


1914 


1915 


1916 


1917 


1918 


Africa 
South African province: 


4 






2 

1 


12 
9 


37 


Union of South Africa 


19 


Asia 
Chino-Malayan province: 

Burma 


4 

1,891 

•• -j 

c252 
clOl 

"32 
94 

* 272 


2,605 
..... 

c292 
119 
301 

'"27 
160 

"215 


2,963 

7 

c326 
220 
475 

2 

14 
161 

74 
411 


3 

4,166 

6120 

52 

578 

183 

584 

25 

19 

303 

47 

613 
770 


21 

5,018 
6cl,500 
d61 
794 
422 
800 

2 
139 
225 

69 

992 

808 


56 
4,919 




cll,662 
<261 
398 


Dutch East Indies (Billiton and Singkep) 
Federated Malay States 




e450 




e800 


Unfederated Malay States: 


1 


Kedah 


582 




691 


Indian province: 


45 


Japo-Korean province: 


el, 102 


Japan 


6651 


Australia 
Australian province: 


2,649 

cl91 
217 
402 

"76 
1 
1 


3,720 

c220 
159 
270 

'"53 
.... 


4,653 

c93 
366 
468 

"l06 
16 


7,460 

c296 

401 

415 

1 

119 

1 

4 


10,830 

c274 
427 
406 

'276 

25 

1 


21,362 
6325 




614 




298 








416 




4 


Western Australia c 


5 


Europe 
Erzgebirgan province: 


888 

57 
c318 

204 
301 

i,'24i 

186 
3 


703 

62 
elOO 

229 

e200 

"735 
149 

4 


1,049 

e75 
el50 

370 
e200 

' L029 
208 


1,237 

el50 
e351 

441 
dl82 

9 

1,563 

468 

36 

1 


1,403 

el5Q 
e200 

270 
dl82 

1 

1,742 
491 

6108 

elO 


1,662 
el50 




e200 


Franco- Cornish province: 


338 




dl82 


Italy 






el, 300 




4,741 


Russian province: 


el50 


Norway 


elO 


North America 
American province: 


2,310 
i,537 


1,479 
"996 


2,032 

(/) 
2,332 


3,201 

47 
5,876 

13 


3,154 

32 
6,112 

207 


7,071 
12 




5,056 


Canadian province: 


13 


Southwestern province: 

Mexico 


165 


Oceania 
Oceanic province: 


1,537 
248 

679 
339 

"357 


990 
228 

499 
330 

"235 


2,332 
217 

201 

947 

10 

455 


5,936 
298 

cl 

963 

3,624 
2 

587 


6,351 

181 

1,251 

4,646 

471 


5,246 
190 


South America 
Brazilian province: 




Cordilleran province: 


724 




4,082 


Chile 




Peru 


295 




1,375 


1,064 


1,613 


5,183 


6,368 


5,101 


Total 


9,011 


8,184 


11,896 


23,318 


28,308 


40,688 







a Figures unaccompanied by footnote references are taken from official sources or other authentic 
publications. In all cases the original quantities have been reduced to their equivalent in concentrates 
containing 60 per cent. WO 3. 

b Figures partly official and partly estimated by the United States Geological Survey. 

c Exports. 

d Figures estimated by the Allies when it was proposed to allocate the tungsten ores of the world 
among themselves. 

e Figures estimated by the United States Geological Survey. 

/ Less than half a ton. 



TUNGSTEN 149 

DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRI- 
BUTION IN THE NEAR FUTURE 

Asia. — The increase of output from eastern Asia has been marvelous. 
In 1913 it amounted to 2,497 tons and in 1918, as already stated, to 20,- 
228 tons — more than 56 per cent, of the world's production. As else- 
where, production must decrease until the accumulated stocks in the 
reducing centers are used, then production will again proceed. The 
alluvial deposits of China are by no means exhausted, the veins are 
scarcely touched, the tungsten-bearing area is large and only partly 
prospected, and such prospecting as has been done has been almost wholly 
for placers; labor is cheap, and a large future output is sure. More liberal 
ideas of trade and government are slowly taking root in China and 
ultimately educated Chinese or trained foreigners will work the deposits ; 
the output for a long time will be large, though it may never again be as 
large as it was in 1918. 

So far as can be learned, the easily worked placers and the upper 
parts of the veins in Burma are becoming exhausted rather rapidly, 1 
and recourse must therefore be had more and more to the mining of 
those parts of the veins below water level and in harder rock, and this 
will probably mean a diminution rather than an increase in output. Siam 
seemingly should give an increased production, as the mines are compara- 
tively new, and there still should be opportunity for discoveries. The 
Federated Malay States and the unfederated states (Johore, Kedah and 
Trengganu) should produce at least as much in the immediate future as 
in the past — given the demand and an equal price. 

Australasia. — Like other British possessions, Australia labored 
under the handicap of a comparatively low fixed price for tungsten ores 
during the war. This price, at first 55 shillings per long ton unit c.i.f. 
London, was later raised to 60 shillings. During the earlier part of the 
war the price paid in Australia averaged less than one-half the price paid 
in the United States, and only a little more than half that paid in regions 
other than the British provinces. In consequence the Australian tung- 
sten production did not increase during the war as it might have done 
had prices been higher. The cream of the known deposits is gone except 
in Tasmania, where contact metamorphic deposits on King Island have 
quadrupled the Tasmanian output. The tungsten minerals mined in 
Australia are largely wolframite with smaller quantities of huebnerite 
and scheelite. The huebnerite seems to be rarely recognized as such 
in the British market, but is all sold as wolframite. Except for the 
contact metamorphic deposits on King Island, Tasmania, the deposits 
worked are mostly veins, with some pegmatites. 

1 Burma Chamber of Commerce and Tavoy Chamber of Mines, " Memorial to Sir 
George Barnes," Mining Jour., London, vol. 121, 1918, May 4, p. 261. 



1 50 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

In New Zealand, the production is wholly scheelite; it increased con- 
siderably during the war until the last year — 1918 — when, apparently 
from a lack of efficient labor, it fell to the lowest point since 1909. The 
probabilities are that there will be a stoppage of output for the present. 

South America. — In Bolivia the increase of production has been great. 
The deposits seem to be wholly veins and derived placers. The veins 
are closely connected with the tin deposits, and in many veins tin and 
tungsten are associated, but many tungsten deposits contain little or no 
tin. The tungsten minerals mined are ferberite, wolframite, scheelite 
and some huebnerite. In some veins the minerals are mixed and in 
others wholly separate. The mines are in and on both sides of the eastern 
Cordillera of the Andes through a distance of nearly 400 miles from a 
point near Puerta Acosta, on the northwest, to Chorolque, on the southeast. 
Mining costs during the war rose greatly in sympathy with the rise in 
other parts of the world. Wages did not rise to great heights, but the 
cost of materials advanced decidedly. Transportation conditions are 
always bad in most of Bolivia, and heavily increase expenses. Because 
of circumstances the output is extremely sensitive to a decrease in de- 
mand or prices, and hence it fell quickly after the armistice, but should 
high prices come again, it will probably again increase quickly. Some 
modern plants were placed at mines before or just as the armistice was 
signed, and when world stocks of tungsten are used and when there is 
again a demand, some ore will be produced even at less than $10 a unit, 
though the average cost seems to be about $12 a unit, at the mine. 1 

The output of Peru, as now produced, seems to depend upon high 
prices and with such prices could probably remain at the level of 1916 
for several years. The Huaura deposits are reported to be large, though 
of low grade, and may under proper management yield much ore even 
at lower prices. They were under the control of German firms during 
the war and probably still are. 

North America. — Until 1911 the United States was the leading tung- 
sten-producing country, but in that year it was passed by Burma, which 
kept the lead until 1916, when the United States again became the prin- 
cipal miner of tungsten ore. In 1918 China entered the excessively high- 
priced market with an output that exceeded by nearly 1,000 tons the 
world's production of any year before 1915. North America increased 
its output from 1,549 tons in 1913 to 6,512 tons in 1917, but dropped back 
nearly 1,000 tons (to 5,406 tons) in 1918. In the United States the de- 
crease of production was due almost wholly to the fall in price, and only 
partly to exhaustion of deposits. In the Boulder, Colo., tungsten field 
some of its best ore bodies are worked out and the cost of production has 
risen greatly owing to the impoverishment of others, and the same thing 
is true in some other places, but it seems possible that in the country as a 

1 Hazeltine, Ross, United States consul, La Paz. Report dated May 14, 1919. 






TUNGSTEN 151 

whole the production can be made about equal to what it has been 
before, provided prices are equally high, through the discovery of the 
contact-metamorphic deposits of the Great Basin. 

In Mexico the tungsten deposits are seemingly a continuation of those 
of southern Arizona. So far as known, all the Mexican deposits carry 
scheelite, in places partly replaced by cuprotungstite. The known 
worked deposits in the Sahuaripa district of Sonora are described as 
veins containing scheelite with copper minerals and a pegmatite dike in 
which are large masses of scheelite and molybdenite. 

Europe. — 'European production increased about 50 per cent, between 
1913 and 1918, mostly in Portugal, and the output of tungsten ores in 
Portugal apparently did not reach its maximum. Both placers and veins 
have been exploited and there seems to be placer material still to be 
worked as well as veins that are said to be far from exhausted. The 
official statistics of production given by Portugal during the greater part 
of the war are declared by engineers conversant with the situation to 
have been too low, because of ore being smuggled into Spain and on 
board ships bound for England. On the other hand, in 1918 England 
and France objected to the shipment of Portuguese ore to the United 
States, but would not pay equivalent prices. The Portuguese govern- 
ment therefore issued an order preventing the export of tungsten ore 
except at fixed prices approaching the current American prices. Amer- 
ican owners could not work their mines successfully under the British- 
French embargo, with the result that the output was probably much 
smaller than in 1917. In spite of the uncertainties the official estimates 
have been used as far as they are available, for no better figures are at 
hand. 

As to the Spanish output, prophecy is difficult because the data 
concerning the mines are meager. It seems probable that under similar 
prices about the same output as in the past may be expected from the 
English and French deposits. The English output decreased in 1917 
and increased only a little in 1918. No accurate data are available from 
France. The German and Austrian deposits were probably worked so 
hard during the World War that less is to be expected from them than 
they have heretofore produced. 

Summary. — The principal changes in the distribution of production 
during the next few years would seem to be: Further development in 
Korea; possible development in Manchuria; development of deposits in 
southern China and Siam; further development in Bolivia; a tendency 
in the United States to largely increased production from deposits in the 
Great Basin; and development of both veins and contact-metamorphic 
deposits in Mexico. Production will possibly decrease in the Atolia and 
Boulder fields of the United States; and in Australia, Japan, Germany 
and Austria. 



152 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

The actual control of the world's tungsten deposits differs consider- 
ably from that indicated by the production within political areas. Ac- 
tual control is justly obtained through ordinary competitive buying, 
ownership by nationals (sometimes by governments) of deposits, and 
through commercial alliance. Control through ownership of banks and 



Table 29. — Actual Control of the World's Tungsten Output in 1917 and 1918. 
In Short Tons of 2.000 Pounds 





1917 


1918 




Quantity 


Percent- 
age of 
world's 
output 


Quantity 


Percent- 
age of 
world's 
output 


British: 

Possessions 


4,600 

853 

350 

200 

75 

1,404 

241 

265 

24 




4,870 

920 

350 

582 

46 

1,662 

146 

330 

37 




Federated Malay States 














Johore and Kedah 




India 








New Zealand 




England 










28.4 

21.3 
49.7 




Obtained through trade and political pressure 

Japan and Korea (including ores for France) 

China and Hongkong (including ores for France) . 
Siam 


8,012 

790 

1,105 

600 

60 

2,035 

960 
446 


8,943 

None 

900 

600 

60 

950 

POO 
425 


24.9 


Billiton and Singkep 




Argentina 1 




Peru j 

Portugal 














5,996 
14,008 

182 

422 

170 

650 

? 

? 

1,424 

200 
150 
? 
? 

? 


3,735 

12,678 

180 
450 
190 
440 

? 

? 

1,260 

200 
150 

? 
? 


10.4 
35.3 


French: 

France 




Tonkin 










Siam 
















German: 


5.3 


3.5 










Portugal 










350 




1.5 


5 


350 


1 



TUNGSTEN 



153 



The Actual Control of the World's Tungsten Output in 
Short Tons of 2,000 Pounds. Continued 


1917 AN! 


» 1918. In 




1917 


1918 




Quantity 


Percent- 
age of 
world's 
output 


Quantity 


Percent- 
age of 
world's 
output 


American: 


340 
4,320 

1,010 

395 

130 

30 

6,144 


43.9 


326 

4,680 

1,650 

9,300 

60 

12 

5,068 




Peru \ 




Argentina J 

Japan and Korea (including some Chinese ore).... 








Siam 












Japanese: (Quantity smelted only) 


12,369 

? 

10 

110 


21,150 
300 
10 
150 , 


59 


Norwegian: 


1 1.3 


Russian : 








Total 


28,178 


35,832 









transportation lines may be just or it may be by coercion and commercial 
brigandage, seizing ports for coaling and repair stations — methods that 
are merely refinements evolved since the days when "They sought their 
fortunes as they pleased abroad, the crown annoying them with no in- 
quiry to embarrass their search for Spanish treasure ships, or their trade 
in pirated linens and silks." 1 

Owing to the close relationships between some foreign governments 
and private firms — as illustrated by the German government's interest 
in dye, potash, and shipping firms, and the British government's partici- 
pation in nickel mining and ferrotungsten-making companies — it is not 
practicable to draw a fine between governmentally and privately con- 
trolled deposits. In countries with weak governents, the deposits 
owned by British subjects are to all intents and purposes British; but 
foreign deposits owned by Americans are not necessarily under American 
control; in fact, instead of helping and encouraging our pioneers in foreign 
trade we are apt to harass them and destroy their business with drastic 
tariff laws. 

In effect, the preceding table merely shows where the ores of different 
countries go for treatment; it is, of course, only a generalization, for 
trade conditions constantly change. For instance, Japanese electric 

1 Wilson, Woodrow. "A History of the American People," vol. 1, p. 25. 



154 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

furnaces are beginning to smelt tungsten ores, though at present to the 
extent of only 10 to 15 tons of contained tungsten per month, but it is 
conceivable that the output may be increased greatly. Although Japan 
could control the disposition of its ore, it is given credit for control only 
of its smelted ores. The exact distribution of ores from Argentina, 
Bolivia, Peru, Portugal and Spain can not be given. 

British Control. — During the war the British government demanded 
and obtained all of the tungsten ores produced in its colonies and posses- 
sions. This restriction was later lifted as regards to Canada, and a new 
rule allowed Canada to ship tungsten ores to other Entente nations, but 
as Canada was not a producer the license granted amounted to nothing 
except as it eased the feelings of the Canadians. Scheelite deposits had 
been discovered in Manitoba, however, that for a time seemed to be 
potential producers. Nominally Siam has remained free from British 
control because more or less under the zone of influence of the French, 
but diplomatic pressure seems to have been exercised at Bangkok. The 
Siamese ores mostly contain some tin and have gone to Singapore for 
separation; and when once within the British possessions, of course they 
could not be exported. The English control of Siamese shipments, 
however, seems as complete as if the ores came from an English province. 
Mr. Nassuer, of the Siamese American Trading Co., testified before the 
Tariff Commission at San Francisco, June 28, 1918, that his company 
wished to ship ore to the United States but the British minister to Siam 
would give no permit. The company took the matter up with our 
State Department and finally got permission to ship 10 tons. 

In February, 1918, the Chemical Products Co., of Washington, D. C, 
protested to the Department of State at Washington with reference to 
British interference with exportation of tungsten ore from Siam to the 
United States, stating that the company was working under conditions 
peculiar to itself in that it employed an expensive process developed to 
handle low-grade ores obtainable at a much lower price than the regular 
grades on the market; that it entered into an agreement with an Ameri- 
can working tungsten mines in Siam for the purchase of his tungsten ore, 
only to find that through control of port privileges at Singapore and 
Hongkong the British effectually prohibited it or any other American 
firm from obtaining the material. Of course, this, like other incidents 
mentioned, took place under the shadow of a desperate war when strict- 
ness was to be expected, but the shipments asked were to an ally from a 
country not openly under control of Great Britain. Doubtless no such 
objections would be offered now, but the incidents show the efficiency of 
these methods of controlling commerce. 

In southern China, Hongkong being the port for Kwangtung and 
Kwangsi, and parts of southern Kiangsi and Hunan, the British for a 
while exercised control over the export of ores produced in those dis- 



TUNGSTEN 155 

tricts, 1 refusing to allow the reshipment of ores unless they were sent to 
England. 

Foreigners, including Americans of course, are not allowed to own 
mining property in Burma, the Federated and Unfederated Malay States, 
or Australia, territory producing nearly all the tungsten ores of the 
British Empire. 

In Argentina small tungsten mines are owned by English companies. 2 

In Bolivia the English and French governments during the war 
leased mines directly, and came into direct competition with American 
business men engaged in buying or producing tungsten ores. 

British traders are constantly striving to increase their control of 
Bolivian tungsten ores. At present the English seemingly have com- 
plete control of the financial system of Bolivia, so far as foreign exchange 
is concerned. An American interested in a tungsten mine in Boh via has 
informed the writer that it is almost impossible to do business with 
English banks, because they insist that if they extend commercial courte- 
sies, even for pay, the recipient must buy only English mining machinery. 
The buddle, which for dressing tungsten ore is obsolete in other countries, 
is said to be still used in Bolivian mills under English control. If miners 
do not wish to deal through English banks, they are compelled to cable 
money to and from New York at considerable expense. The American 
banking interests represented in Bolivia seem conservative in advancing 
money on ore shipments, whereas German and English representatives 
are said to advance up to 80 per cent, of the market value of ores shipped. 
Mining corporations controlled by English firms ship to England, and 
Americans can not compete for the production. Such a firm is Aramayo 
Francke Mines, Ltd., which produced 2,050 long tons of tin concentrates, 
226 tons of wolframite concentrates, and a considerable output of 
bismuth in the year ending May 31, 1916. Control of the Bolivian mines 
by the English is not yet dangerous to American interests, except through 
the banking system,' but entire control may be passed to them, to the 
Germans or the French, through American tariff legislation. 

In Portugal, English companies control a number of the mines, and 
it has been alleged by at least two Americans 3 that the English govern- 
ment, through its representations at Lisbon, for a period of more than 
two years, prevented title passing to American companies. The Thermo 
Electric Ore Reduction Corporation, Ltd., seems to be the chief English 
owner of Portuguese tungsten mines. 

In the Dutch East Indies, the British are understood to control the 
present wolframite production of about 5 tons a month. 

1 Anderson, George E.: American Consul General, Hongkong, China. "Tung- 
sten from South China." Commerce Reports, Nov. 9, 1917, p. 546. 

2 Sharp, Ralston C: "Wolfram Deposits in the Argentine." Mining Magazine, 
London, vol. 18, May, 1918, pp. 230-233. 

3 Personal communications. 



156 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

French Control. — French control of tungsten deposits is not large. 
It includes the production of France and of Tonkin, a part of that from 
Portugal, and a comparatively small interest in Boh via. During the 
war, control in Portugal was attempted by England and France. The 
prices offered by the English and French were much below the market 
prices at New York, and the Portuguese government stepped in and 
raised prices to a point somewhat lower than those of the United States, 
but 20 per cent, higher than the prices offered by England and France. 

Japanese Control. — Japan has within her own borders a considerable 
number of tungsten deposits in the southern part of the islands, but all are 
small. In Korea important deposits have been discovered and activeb 
worked, especially within the last two years. Deposits in Manchuria f 
are said to be controlled by the Japanese; little is known of them, and 
if they exist they are probably small. Japanese ores have largely come 
to the United States for several years. As has been said, Japanese firms 
have erected electric furnaces in which a part of the tungsten ores' are 
reduced, probably the equivalent of 25 to 35 tons per month of con- 
centrates carrying 60 per cent. W0 3 . 

American Control. — The United States controls entirely the tungsten 
deposits within its own borders and Alaska. Americans operating in 
Mexico have produced 200 to 300 short tons of scheelite concentrates 
per year, from deposits in the Sahuaripa district, Sonora. Wolframite is 
said to have been shipped from Sinaloa to the United States, but its 
real origin is unknown. Contact metamorphic deposits about 60 miles 
southwest of Nacozari carry 0.7 per cent. WO3 and 1 to 2 per cent, 
copper. They are owned by Americans but are not now productive. 

In Bolivia, Americans own some of the more important tungsten 
mines. The American firms known to own tungsten properties there 
are W. R. Grace & Co., local address, La Paz; Stewart, Wilson & Hep- 
burn, Oruro; Easley Inslee, La Paz; and C. Dillon, Oruro. Their total 
output is estimated to amount to about 1,600 tons, out of a total output 
of more than 4,000 tons for the country. 

In southern China, American firms have largely developed the tung- 
sten trade, so that through this source the United States (or rather 
American capital) controls, unless hindered, a yearly output of perhaps 
9,000 short tons of tungsten concentrates. 

In Siam one or two United States companies have attempted to pro- 
duce tungsten, but English influence during the war made difficult the 
shipment of even small lots of ores to this country. 

Because it offered higher prices than other countries, and because the 
more direct and shorter trade route made trade with this country ad- 
vantageous to the Japanese, the United States largely controlled the 
Japanese output of tungsten ore in 1918. This trade probably has been 
somewhat curtailed and will be further diminished through the erection 



TUNGSTEN 



157 



of electric furnaces in Japan. The table following shows the tungsten 
ores imported for consumption into the United States in 1918, but gives a 
poor idea of the ores shipped from the countries of origin ; Chinese ores lag 
three months and South American ores about two months. The table 
gives only the ores actually received during the year. Table 29 shows 
more nearly the ores shipped to the United States during the year. 

Chinese ores are treated as averaging 67.5 per cent. WO3 and other 
ores 65 per cent. W0 3 . 

Table 30. — Tungsten-bearing Ores Imported into the United States in 1918, by 

Countries as Listed at Ports of Entry, and by Probable 

Countries op Origin 



As listed at ports 



Probable origin and equivalent in 60 per cent. WO3 



Country 



Quantity, 
short tons 



Value 



Country 



Quantity, 
short tons 



Value 



Argentina . 
Bolivia. . . . 



Canada. 
Chile... 
China. . . 



Colombia. . 
Costa Rica. 
Ecuador. . . . 



France 

Hongkong. . . 

Japan 

Mexico 

"Other Brit- 
ish East In- 
dies".... 

Panama. 

Peru. . . . 

Portugal 

Salvador 

Siam 

Unaccounted 
for 



536 

88 



56 
1,251 

2,384 

56 

18 
6 

29 

3,595 

1,361 

264 



19 
37 
1,827 
27 
40 
11 

145 



$ 730,722 
122,357 



115,863 

1,209,864 

2,068,636 

65,124 

19,081 

9,979 

3,400 

3,511,046 

1,700,332 

224,247 



13,071 
40,614 
1,488,516 
17,760 
60,042 
8,583 

142,981 



South America, 
including : 
Argentina 
Bolivia 
Chile 
Colombia 
Costa Rica 
Ecuador 
Panama 
Peru 
Salvador 



4,181 



$ 3,746,299 



China, including 
Hongkong, 
"Other British 
East Indies;" also 
Canada 



Japan. . 
Mexico . 



Portugal, includ- 
ing: 
France 



Siam 

Unaccounted for 



6,811 

1,474 

286 

61 

12 

157 



5,708,616 

1,700,332 

224,247 

21,160 

8,583 

142,981 



11,750 



$11,552,218 



12,882 



$11,552,218 



158 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Unhindered by other governments, this country would have imported 
even larger quantities of ore, because of its paying higher prices and 
being more liberal regarding impurities. 

The table shows that the United States imported 36 per cent, of the 
tungsten output of the world; this amount added to the domestic out- 
put makes a total of 17,921 tons, or 50 percent, of the world's production. 
Owing to the lag in shipments from South America and China the South 
American ores received in January and February were from the output 
of 1917, as were the Chinese ores arriving up to the end of March. Sub- 
tracting the ores arriving from the two regions during the first two and 
three months, respectively, of 1918, and adding the ores arriving during 
a like period in 1919, make the quantity of ore controlled by the United 
States in 1918 (as shown on page 153) equivalent to 21,131 tons of con- 
centrates carrying 60 percent. W0 3 , or 59 per cent, of the world's produc- 
tion. These ores were all controlled through the private initiative of 
American firms who offered better prices and better terms than could 
be obtained abroad. Probably a larger proportion could be handled in 
the future, should interference not come from within our own borders. 
It is now proposed to put a tariff of $10 a unit on tungsten ores without 
regard to purity or quality, with a correspondingly high tariff of $1 a 
pound, plus the 15 per cent, ad valorem duties now in force, on metal in 
any form — element, alloy or salt; and such a bill has passed the House 
of Representatives. Its advocates believe that the price, now about 
$7 a unit in New York, will be raised to $17 a unit. 

Hereafter the quantities of tungsten ore handled will be much smaller 
than during 1916, 1917 and 1918; and will be confined to peace-time needs 
unless some unforeseen war arises. England, according to government 
estimates about January, 1920, had two years' supply, and France is 
probably as well supplied. The United States probably had on hand an 
equivalent of quite 8,000 tons of ore carrying 60 per cent. W0 3 . Makers 
of tool steel figured on a consumption of 7,500 tons during 1919, but be- 
cause of the lack of market for ore this was much too high; and probably 
4,000 tons is large enough, so that there will likely be little market for 
new supplies for nearly two years, except as ore may be bought specu- 
latively. During this time, mines everywhere must remain idle until a 
demand again arises, except for those mines required to furnish tungsten 
for Germany, Austria and Russia and the small quantity required by 
Sweden, Norway and Italy. If industries in Germany, Austria and Rus- 
sia recover so that they can buy and use tungsten, Germany will have 
regained in the ores that will be eagerly offered by producing nations 
needing a market, a part of the trade she has lost. Traders of England, 
France and the United States will be glad to sell tungsten and ferro- 
tungsten, but Germany will undoubtedly reach out for raw material 
in order that she may make as much use as possible of her abundant 



TUNGSTEN 159 

unemployed labor. Should a tariff law like that now proposed be passed, 
the United States will have cut off its foreign supplies and will have 
ended its control of any considerable part of them. However, should a 
high price be maintained, artificially or otherwise, the development of 
other alloy steels for use in multiple-edged tools may have reached 
a point where not so much tungsten will be needed. 

German Control. — Germany had no considerable tungsten deposits 
at home, and none in the foreign territory she held, but in 1913 her control 
through business alliances covered about two-thirds of the world's output 
of tungsten ore. In that year, according to the German official figures, 
5,295 short tons of tungsten ores were imported. Most of this probably 
carried 65 per cent, or more W0 3 , equivalent to, say, 5,736 tons of con- 
centrates carrying 60 per cent. W0 3 . Adding the 106 tons of Saxon 
concentrates produced in that year shows that Germany treated a total 
of approximately 5,840 tons out of a world's output of 8,864 tons, or 
about 66 per cent, of the total. The United States in the same year 
produced 1,537 tons and imported 449 tons of unknown content, but the 
whole was probably equivalent to more than 2,000 tons of ore carrying 60 
per cent. W0 3 , leaving only about 1,000 tons for other countries, most 
of which seems to have been treated in France. This trade Germany 
lost when with Austria she started the World War. With the cutting 
off of all shipments by ocean to Germany, most of the foreign ores 
were denied her, but undoubtedly small quantities leaked in through 
Sweden and Norway for some time after the war began. The small 
output of Austria was always available, and it is said that a considerable 
quantity of ore was smuggled across the border of Portugal into Spain, 
thence by water to the western frontier of Italy, into Switzerland, and 
from there shipped direct to Germany. A considerable part of the Span- 
ish production is said to have reached Germany in this way also, and the 
"crippled" submarines that ran into Spanish ports are reported to have 
carried out cargoes of tungsten for Germany. From available data it is 
impossible to confirm or to disprove these reports, and, in giving them, 
their doubtfulness is fully recognized, but such possibilities must be 
acknowledged. 

In the Allied countries and the United States, the German interests 
were taken over by the governments, but in South America the German 
firms still hold some control of tungsten-bearing properties. In Bolivia 
four German firms are said to have an output of about 600 metric tons of 
ore a year. In Peru what is said to be the larger part of the tungsten 
deposits has been controlled by firms thought to be German, E. y W. 
Hardt and Carlos W. Weiss y Cia. In Argentina the Hansa Mining 
Co., a German concern, is the principal producer. Its output is 
said to be about 500 tons of concentrates a year, but even this output is 
said to have come to the United States during the war. If the United 



160 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

States is placed under a prohibitive tariff, Germany may easily recover a 
large part of her control of the world's tungsten trade. 

PRODUCTION PLANTS AND PROCESSES 

The spread of knowledge, particularly that regarding electric furn- 
aces, makes the control of the tungsten trade through secret processes or 
superior skill extremely difficult, and so far as the United States, Great 
Britain and France are concerned, gives little advantage to any one. 
Japan is perhaps somewhat less advantageously placed. Smelting plants 
are so easily, quickly and cheaply erected that they do not offer any great 
chance for monopoly. Cheap power, high technical skill and knowledge, 
originality and boldness in experiment, excellence of organization, 
generous dealing with producers, an honest product honestly sold, 
good transportation facilities, and broad sane laws are the elements that 
will give control. The United States may have this control through 
reasonable effort, but selfish laws may still more easily wreck control 
of the larger part of the world's trade, reduce our tungsten business to a 
provincial scope, and make the product high priced for all time. 

WHAT CONTROL MEANS IN THE UNITED STATES 

In years of good business before the World War, the United States 
used an equivalent of 3,000 to 4,000 short tons of concentrates, carrying 
60 per cent. W0 3 per annum. When the war began there was a lull 
while the attacked countries caught their breath and prepared for a 
long struggle. After plans had been made, and the manufacture of 
munitions had begun on a grand scale, the demand for tungsten rose 
enormously. All kinds of ores were taken at fabulous prices. Ores 
carrying tin, phosphorus, sulphur and bismuth, that before would not 
have been considered by steel makers, were taken with avidity, and there 
was a great scramble for deposits. In October, 1918, the United States 
was using tungsten ores at the rate of 20,000 tons per annum. Mean- 
while prospecting had uncovered so many new deposits and they were so 
actively exploited that great stocks of ores were accumulated in the 
Entente countries. On the other hand, in this country many of the 
known deposits showed signs of impoverishment, a number after being 
worked profitably for a short time became wholly inoperative, and it is 
likely that some of the deposits that have seemed to be the richest will 
never again produce largely. Among the new discoveries were the con- 
tact metamorphic deposits of the Great Basin, in California, Nevada and 
northeastern Utah. They were partly developed, and several promise 
well, but the irregularity of contact metamorphic ore deposits is 
notorious. 



TUNGSTEN 161 

In 1916 with prices ranging from $15 to $93.50 per unit, the United 
States produced 5,969 tons of concentrates; in 1917 while still under the 
impetus of the 1916 boom, with prices ranging around $25 per unit, 
6,144 tons; and in 1918, with prices still averaging about $25 per unit, 
5,041 tons, although little was produced in December. Under a price 
of $17 per unit, which tariff advocates think can be reached by means of 
a tariff of $10 per unit, it seems improbable that the United States can 
depend on a production of more than 3,000 tons per annum for the next 
three years. There are, of course, possibilities of a larger production and 
there are equal possibilities of a smaller. Should another great war 
take place, an event that is not beyond the range of imagination, the 
United States would probably begin by using tungsten at the rate of 
20,000 tons of concentrates per annum. Unless the price were even more 
extravagant than the highest price in 1916, $93.50 per unit, the United 
States could not produce half of its needed concentrates, and the time re- 
quired to reach even that output would be far too long for safety. Of 
course, such a production would be much better than none, but the United 
States should, for safety, have within reach at least a year's supply. 

The Pacific, around the borders of which are the largest tungsten 
deposits, is by many looked upon as the next large theatre of war, and 
however vitally they were needed, the obtaining of supplies of tungsten 
ores might become impossible though the blocking of trade routes. It 
would, therefore, seem vastly better that, instead of putting a premium 
on the quick depletion of our own supplies, which are already too meager, 
we should use the rich low-priced ores now being mined in the Orient. 
These cheap ores we may have in trade for the asking, and it would be 
one of the best forms of national life insurance for the government to 
store 10,000 tons of these ores while they may be had. 

The argument is often made that by putting a high tariff on tungsten 
ores we would have our own deposits so developed that quick production 
could be made when needed; also that with the need we would find more 
ores. Both arguments are specious. What is meant is not development 
but removal. No one will open a tungsten mine to let the ores stand 
against the country's day of need. The finding of new ores is a proba- 
bility, but the quantity is wholly a question. Few tungsten mines of the 
United States can be profitably worked at the present price of about $7 
per unit, and the mines are now closed. The number of persons depend- 
ent on the mining of American tungsten ores is small, probably less than 
900 in peace times. At present most tungsten miners have already ob- 
tained other employment, and practically all could obtain employment 
fully as profitably in other mines, many of which are short handed, so 
that no great hardship would be worked. As a matter of national econ- 
omy, the United States can not afford to throw away its chance to buy 
cheap tungsten ores while they are available. Aside from the question 



162 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

of insurance and even of existence during another war, not to buy South 
American ores is to throw away South American trade. In a degree 
this is also true of Chinese and Japanese ores. 

The metallurgy of tungsten, like that of other metals, is being im- 
proved constantly, and should our ores remain in the ground for a time 
they will be of greater absolute value when mined, for there will be less 
waste in conversion. If our ores are mined now under an artificially 
high price, we will always pay a high price for tungsten ores, for when 
ours are used the ores in other countries will have diminished in quantity 
and increased in cost; prices would be higher and we would have to buy 
at the advanced rate. On the other hand, by holding our markets 
open to cheap ores from any quarter, we will stand on an equal foot- 
ing with other countries and will always have a reserve of high-priced 
ores available in an emergency. 

There is but one crop of ore. Deliberately to turn over all the cheap 
tungsten ores of the world to our competitors, allowing them this advan- 
tage in making high-speed steels with which to compete in foreign trade 
with our steels and with all products on and in which they are used; to 
put a premium on the early depletion of our own deposits of this indis- 
pensable metal; and to compel our use always of high-priced ores — these 
would be economic crimes. 



CHAPTER VIII 
VANADIUM 

By R. B. Moore 
USES OF VANADIUM 

The main use of vanadium is in steel. It is used where great tough- 
ness and torsional strength are required, as in ■ automobile parts, gears, 
piston rods, tubes, boiler plates, transmission shafts, bolts, gun barrels, 
gun shields and forgings of any kind which have to withstand heavy wear 
and tear. The vanadium content of such steels varies from 0.1 to 0.4 
per cent. Vanadium is occasionally used in certain tungsten alloys 
for making high-speed tool steel, the introduction of a small proportion 
of vanadium decidedly reducing the proportion of tungsten required to 
give such alloys the desired hardness and toughness. 

Arnold has given some illustrations of the effect of vanadium on 
steels of different types: 

One plain carbon steel containing about 1 per cent, of carbon had a yield 
point of 35 tons per square inch, a maximum stress of 60 tons per square inch, an 
elongation of 10 per cent, on 2 inches, and a reduction of area of 10 per cent. 
The addition to this steel of about 0.6 per cent, of vanadium raised the yield 
point from 35 to 65 tons, the maximum stress from 60 to 86 tons per square inch, 
still leaving an elongation of 7 per cent, and a reduction of area of 8 per cent. 

A steel containing 0.25 per cent, of carbon and 3.3 per cent, of nickel gave a 
yield point of 33 tons, a maximum stress of 42 tons per square Inch, an elongation 
of 26 per cent, on 2 inches, and a reduction of area of 53 per cent. A practically 
identical steel, containing in addition about 0.25 per cent, of vanadium, gave a 
yield point of 50 tons instead of 33, and a maximum stress of 68 instead of 42 tons 
per square inch. The elongation was 17 per cent, on 2 inches and the reduction 
of area 36 per cent. 

A steel containing 0.25 per cent, of carbon and about 1 per cent, of chromium 
registered a yield point of 27 tons and a maximum stress of 41 tons per square 
inch, with an elongation of 36 per cent, on 2 inches and a reduction of area of 55 
per cent. The addition of 0.25 per cent, of vanadium raised the yield point from 
27 to 40 and the maximum stress from 41 to 55 tons per square inch. The 
elongation was lowered from 36 to 26 per cent., and the reduction of area from 55 
to 53 per cent. 

Vanadium, therefore, differs from tungsten in having an extremely 
beneficial effect, not only on tool but also on structural steel. Arnold 
has shown that vanadium seemingly does not form a double carbide with 

163 



164 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

iron, but gradually takes the carbon from the carbide of iron until, if 
about 5 per cent, of vanadium is present, Fe 3 C can not exist, and only a 
vanadium carbide, V 4 C 3 , containing 15 per cent, of carbon, is present; 
and this constituent is constant, at least in tool steels containing 5 to 14 
per cent, of vanadium. The micrographic analysis of such alloys has 
resulted in the discovery of three new constituents, namely, vanadium 
pearlite, vanadium hardenite, and vanadium cementite. 

Chromium-vanadium steels are the latest development in structural 
alloy steels that have gained an extensive market. Almost all these 
steels are made in the open-hearth furnace ; the chromium and vanadium 
alloys being added shortly before casting. In their physical properties 
these steels are much like chrome-nickel steels, but they have a greater 
contraction of area for a given elastic limit than the latter. The greater 
part of the chrome-vanadium steels made goes into automobiles. Some 
manufacturers prefer such steels because of their greater freedom from 
surface inperfections, notably seams, which steels containing nickel are 
prone to have if the ingots are at all unsound. These steels are almost 
always used in the heat-treated condition, but even in automobiles some 
frames, forgings and shafts are made of the steel in its natural state. 

Some chrome-vanadium steel is said to be used in armor plate of me- 
dium thickness, which is not face-hardened but has high resistance 
imparted by heat treatment. 

Vanadium is also used to some extent in making bronzes, in medicine 
and in dyeing. 

Substitutes. — Several substitutes, chiefly titanium and molydenum, 
have been claimed to give the properties of vanadium in steel. Both 
of those metals give to steel some of the properties that are usually 
associated with vanadium, but neither one takes the place of vanadium 
entirely. 



CHANGES IN PRACTICE 

The Primos Chemical Co. (see later) has its own patented method for 
treating roscoelite, the ore found at Newmire, Colorado. This method 
consists in roasting the ore with salt containing a little pyrite, and is a 
method that is applicable to some extent to most vanadium ores that do 
not carry lead. The American Vanadium Co. has a secret process for 
the treatment of its Peruvian ores. This method has not been published. 
The treatment of vanadinite, cuprodescloizite and carnotite ores has 
been studied by the U. S. Bureau of Mines, at Golden, Colorado. What- 
ever change in practice takes place is likely to be mainly in the concen- 
tration of vanadinite and in the treatment of this mineral and cupro- 
descloizite. 



VANADIUM 165 

GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

Peruvian Deposits. — The largest deposits of vanadium in the world, 
and the most important, were until recently controlled by the American 
Vanadium Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which in 1919 was absorbed 
by the Vanadium Products Corporation, allied to the Bethlehem Steel 
Corporation. These deposits are at Minasragra, Peru, 20 miles from 
Cerro de Pasco. The area lies along the western limit of a broad anti- 
cline in Juratrias and Cretaceous rocks. A section shows the series in 
this locality to be composed of green shales, thin beds of limestone, and 
red shales. Vanadium is found only in the red shales. The deposit 
proper appears to be a lens-shaped mass, 28 feet wide and 350 feet long. 
The ore contains several minerals. The mineral that constitutes the 
large portion of the deposit is called " quisqueite " ; it is a black carbona- 
ceous substance containing sulphur. There is also a lesser quantity of a 
coke-like material. Neither of these contains vanadium. The vana- 
dium is mostly at the southern end of the ore body, and to a depth of 
20 feet is largely in the form of red calcium vanadate, which is brighter 
colored then the calcium vanadate in Colorado and Utah, and carries as 
much as 50 per cent, vanadium oxide. It occurs in small pockets and 
fills the cracks and fissures in a fine shale. Below this shale is the 
"mother lode," which is 9 to 30 feet thick, extends along the greater 
length of the deposit, and carries as high as 10 per cent, vanadium oxide 
and nearly as much sulphur. On the east and south sides, below the 
"mother lode," is a hard blue-black vanadium shale, carrying as much 
as 13 per cent, vanadium oxide and 4 to 5 per cent, sulphur. Patro- 
nite, the main vanadium mineral, is greenish black and contains 19 to 
24.8 per cent, vanadium oxide and in places 50 to 55 per cent, of com- 
bined sulphur. The patronite originally almost reached the surface 
and is most abundant in the north half of the lens. The whole ore body 
is almost completely inclosed by porphyry dikes and contains two or 
three intrusions. These deposits are controlled by the American Vana- 
dium Co., and its successor, the Vanadium Products Corporation, 
through a concession from the Peruvian government. They are large, 
but are by no means inexhaustible, and as they are entirely local they 
are not likely to be duplicated. No similar deposits are known, either 
in Peru or in any other part of the world. 

In 1917 the American Vanadium Co. treated 5,236 gross tons of ore, 
from which it extracted 2,122,005 pounds of vanadic acid. From 
this vanadic acid the company manufactured 4,925,014 pounds of 
ferrovanadium. The company did not buy any ore in this country, 
but relied entirely upon its Peruvian production. 

Other Foreign Deposits. — The deposits in Peru are the only deposits 
of any commercial importance outside of the United States. Vanadium 



166 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

is found in South Australia, associated with carnotite and other uranium 
minerals. Small quantities of vanadic oxide are obtained as a by-product 
in the treatment of these ores. 

Vanadium is also associated with uranium minerals in the Andijan 
district, Central Asiatic Russia. The vanadium is usually found as 
turanite, or copper vanadate; ferganite, an ortho-vanadate of uranium; 
and as several other new minerals. The amount of ore seems to be 
reasonably large, and this district may ultimately become a source of 
both uranium and vanadium. 

The lead ores of Mexico contain some vanadium, the best known 
deposits being in the northeastern part of the State of Chihuahua. Other 
deposits are reported in Zacatecas, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi, and 
Hidalgo. 

Deposits in the United States. — The principal vanadium deposits 
of the United States occur in a metallographic province covering south- 
ern and southwestern Colorado, southeastern Utah, and parts of Arizona 
and New Mexico. Uranium and radium characterize the same province. 

Probably the largest deposits of vanadium yet discovered in the 
United States are in southwestern Colorado in San Miguel County. 
These deposits were visited by Ransome and Spencer in 1899 and their 
description, together with notes on the chemical analyses and composition 
of roscoelite by Hillebrand, was published in 1900. Fleck and French 
have also described the deposits. Fleck and Haldane later published 
additional descriptions, with notes on mining operations. Hess, in 
1912, published an excellent description of these deposits with notes on 
the possible origin, etc. 

According to Cross and Purington, the country rock is composed of 
Jurassic and Triassic sediments, divisible into three formations, the 
Dolores below, La Plata above and McElmo above La Plata. The 
latter is composed of two heavy beds of light-colored sandstone, separated 
by a thin bed of limestone. The vanadium-bearing rock is the lower 
sandstone. It is a light to dull green, and fine-grained. Occasionally 
splotches of carnotite are found in the cracks and fissures, but the ura- 
nium content is too small to be worth saving. 

According to Hillebrand, the green vanadium mineral to which the 
sandstone owes its color is not a chlorite, but is closely related to the 
mica, roscoelite. The ore mined has an average content of 1}^ per cent. 
V2O5. These low-grade roscoelite deposits can be mined at a profit, 
because they are large and easily worked. 

Undoubtedly these deposits have been feeling the effects of the rather 
large production of the last few years, and the average grade of the ore 
is now probably at least half of a per cent, lower in V 2 5 than it was a 
few years ago. There is still considerable ore untouched that will 
average 1 per cent., or a little less. The British government for several 



VANADIUM 167 

years, according to reports, has been interested in obtaining control of 
vanadium deposits. 

The Primos Chemical Co., with works at Newmire, Colorado, and 
Primos, Pennsylvania, is mining these deposits, and in 1917 made this 
production: 

Treated 60,907,000 pounds of ore; from this was produced 496,731 
pounds of vanadium in the form of iron vanadate running about 34 per 
cent, metallic vanadium. Prom this was produced 417,770 pounds of 
contained vanadium in the form of regular 40 per cent, ferro vanadium. 
In 1918, up to and including July, this company mined 17,449,000 pounds 
of ore, from which was produced 149,343 pounds of contained vanadium 
in the form of vanadate of iron and 133,666 pounds of contained vana- 
dium made in the form of 40 per cent, ferrovanadium. 

In 1919 the Primos Chemical Co., was absorbed by the newly 
organized Vanadium Products Corporation. 

Vanadium ore has been discovered in Huerfano County, Colorado, 
near the Sangre de Cristo Range. The vein is said to be well defined 
and 1 to 4 feet in width. A number of assays show 2 to 7 per cent. V2O5 
content, and others 2 to 4 per cent, copper. The ore is heavy, black 
and banded; it contains small quantities of uranium oxide, but should be 
classed as a vanadium, rather than a uranium mineral. There has been 
no commercial production up to date. 

In Eagle County, 7 miles southeast of the town of Eagle, a silver ore 
has been found that carries vanadium. This was located mostly in the 
Lady Bell mine. The ore, a dark-greenish sandstone similar in appear- 
ance to the darker types of roscoelite ore found in San Miguel County, 
assayed from 25 to 1,000 ounces of silver to the ton. The mine has been 
largely worked out for silver, the vanadium being lost during the smelting 
process. There is still, however, an appreciable amount of vanadium 
ore left, as the low-grade silver ore was not mined or treated. 

A considerable amount of vanadium is obtained as a by-product from 
the treatment of carnotite (uranium and radium) ore. It is difficult to 
say just what the yield from this ore is, but it is probable that it averages 
about 200,000 pounds of vanadic oxide per annum. This is produced by 
five or six operating radium companies. These deposits are found in 
southwestern Colorado, around the Paradox Valley, and in southeastern 
Utah, extending as far as the San Rafael Swell, southwest of Green 
River, Utah. 

There is considerable ore running one-half to 1 per cent, uranium 
oxide which carries from 4 to 10 per cent, vanadic oxide. In the past 
this ore has not been mined, because the extraction of radium from it 
would not pay. With a strong demand and a high price for vanadium, 
at least the higher grades of this ore could be mined at a profit. There 
is considerable of such ore at certain localities north of the Paradox 



168 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Valley; unfortunately, these deposits are somewhat scattered and some 
would involve not only long wagon hauls, but also transportation by 
burro to wagon roads. Only the higher-grade ore could be handled in 
this way at a profit, and the difficulty is to get enough to justify building 
a treatment plant. 

The writer has been told that there are deposits of this same type of 
ore at Temple Mountain, 40 miles south of Green River, Utah. 

A small vanadinite deposit, containing traces of wulfenite, has been 
found near Klinefelter Station, on the main line of the Sante Fe Railroad, 
near the eastern border of San Bernardino County, California. The ore 
is largely calcite and is low grade, averaging probably from 1 to 2 per 
cent, vanadic oxide. 

A deposit of vanadinite in Sierra County, New Mexico, on the Atchi- 
son, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, was mined for a short period in 1912 
and 1913. Besides vanadium, the veins contain galenite, copper carbon- 
ates, barite, fluorite and other minerals. The ore was treated at a mill 
close to the mine, but the whole undertaking was unsuccessful, probably 
because the ore was so low grade, and because of metallurgical difficulties. 
There are a number of other deposits of vanadinite in New Mexico, but 
none of them have been commercially developed in any way. 

Vanadinite is found in a considerable number of places in Arizona, 
frequently associated with wulfenite, or lead molybdate. Indeed, one of 
the difficulties of producing both vanadium and molybdenum from vana- 
dinite and wulfenite is the fact that the two minerals are frequently so 
closely associated that, because of the slight difference in specific gravity, 
it is not easy to separate them by mechanical methods. At the Mam- 
moth mine, in Arizona, the upper levels are richer in vanadinite than in 
wulfenite, but at the lower levels, the reverse is true. Undoubtedly a 
considerable amount of vanadinite could be produced from this mine and 
others in the vicinity, but it is doubtful whether it could be done at a 
profit, even at a high price for vanadium. 

The United States Vanadium Co. has a mine 4 miles from Ray 
Junction, Arizona, and at the mine a small mill to concentrate the ore, 
which is low grade, and produces vanadium from the concentrates. The 
amount of ore that can be obtained from this mine is somewhat doubtful. 
This is the trouble with vanadinite as a whole ; it exists over a wide terri- 
tory, but the deposits are all low grade and apparently are not extensive 
in any one locality. 

One of the most promising deposits, as regards increased production 
of vanadium, is at the Shattuck mine, Bisbee, Arizona, where a large 
vug, or cavity, is fined with a vanadium mineral, probably cuprodescloi- 
zite. The ore carries about 8 to 10 per cent, vanadic oxide, in addition 
to copper and lead. This seems to be one of the best opportunities for 
an increased production of vanadium in this country. The Golden, 



VANADIUM 



169 




170 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Colo., station of the United States Bureau of Mines made a metallurgical 
study of the treatment of this ore. 

The distribution of the vanadium deposits of the world is shown in 
Plate V. 

POSITION OF LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS 

The United States is peculiarly fortunate as regards vanadium prod- 
ucts, for it is practically the only producer of vanadium in the world, 
the Peruvian deposits being under the control of an American company. 
Therefore, England, France, Germany, Japan and other nations are 
forced to buy of American companies. 



DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRI- 
BUTION IN THE NEAR FUTURE 

The larger part of the vanadium that has been used in this country 
has come from the mines of the American Vanadium Co. in Peru, but 
the Primos Chemical Co. produced an amount of vanadium from its 
claims at Newmire, San Miguel County, Colorado, that at least tended to 
give some real competition to the American Vanadium Co. As already 
stated, these claims are not nearly as rich or productive as they were, 
but they are probably good for several years more. The ore from Peru 
can be counted on probably for several years at something like the present 
output. The same statement applies to carnotite ore, and it is likely 
that the production of vanadium from carnotite may increase to some 
extent, as the demand for radium is strong, and there may be a consequent 
increase in the treatment of lower-grade carnotite. As this low-grade 
material usually carries more vanadium, the production of vanadium 
from this source may increase. 

Vanadinite may prove to be a source of vanadium, although it is 
doubtful whether any large quantity can be produced from this mineral. 
As already stated, cuprodescloizite is probably the best source for an 
immediate increase in production. 

As regards foreign countries other than Peru, Russia is the only one 
likely to produce any appreciable amount of vanadium ores, and un- 
doubtedly no such production will be obtained until industrial condi- 
tions are more settled. 

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

The American Vanadium Co. holds its mines in Peru through a con- 
cession from the Peruvian government. Thus at least two-thirds of the 
vanadium production of the world is practically in the hands of the Peru- 
vian government, although the company operating is American. 



VANADIUM 171 

Formerly the American Vanadium Co. was the only producer of vana- 
dium products and ferrovanadium in the world. The price of vanadium 
was then somewhere around $5.00 per pound for the metallic vanadium 
content of the ferrovanadium. Later the Primos Chemical Co. came into 
the field, and the American Vanadium Co. cut the price. On account 
of the large deposits of ore that the Primos Chemical Co. had in Colorado, 
the result was simply a lowering of the price of ferrovanadium. Un- 
doubtedly, if it were not for this competition the price of vanadium 
during that period would have been higher than it was, and if it were 
not for the Primos Chemical Co., the American Vanadium Co. would 
have had practically a monopoly of the whole vanadium production, as 
the output from carnotite was not large enough to affect the market 
seriously. As it was, these two companies controlled more than 90 per 
cent, of the ore supply, and thus the recent change of ownership to the 
Vanadium Products Corporation will enable the latter to fix the price, as 
well as to regulate the consumption and thus prolong the availability 
of a useful metal which otherwise would be likely to soon become ex- 
hausted. The principal vanadium deposits of Chihauhua, Mexico, are 
controlled by the Madero estate (Mexican) . 

This dominance of control of sources of supply has made control 
through ownership of reduction plants, patents and secret processes of 
less importance. 



CHAPTER IX 
ANTIMONY 

By II. G. Ferguson and D. A. Hall 
USES OF ANTIMONY 

The following summary of the uses of antimony is taken from 

Mineral Resources of United States, 1918. 1 

Peace uses. — Metallic antimony unalloyed has few industrial uses. In the 
form of fine powder, known as "iron black," it is used for producing the appear- 
ance of polished steel on articles made of papier-mache or pottery. For these 
purposes it is precipitated by the action of metallic zinc in an acid solution of 
antimony salts. Antimony alloys readily with most heavy metals and the alloy 
is harder than the two pure metals. Most of these alloys possess the prop- 
erty of slight expansion on solidifying. Type metal is an alloy of antimony, 
lead, and tin; babbitt, anti-friction, or bearing metal is usually an alloy of anti- 
mony, tin, and copper. Britannia metal, also known as "white metal," is an 
alloy of antimony, tin, and copper, with some zinc, and, rarely, small quantities of 
other metals. It is used in making cheap domestic tableware, teapots, and 
spoons. Antimony alloys find minor utilization in battery plates, toys, cable 
coverings, and siphon tops. Lead-antimony alloy or hard lead is used in making 
acid-resisting valves. 

White antimony oxide, mainly the tetraoxide (Sb 2 4 ), is used for making 
opaque white enamel and other sanitary ware. In this use antimony oxides 
compete with tin oxide. Antimony oxide, mainly trioxide, is used as a coloring 
agent in the manufacture of glass, as it is more readily fusible than tetraoxide 
and does not impart opacity to the glass. Antimony oxides are further used 
as paint pigments. 

The red sulphides of antimony are used in vulcanizing and coloring red rubber 
and also as paint pigments. The natural antimony trisulphide, stibnite, enters 
into the composition of safety matches or of the compound that is put on the 
match box. 

Antimonate of lead containing an excess of lead oxide, known as "Naples 
yellow," is used in oil paints and in the glass and ceramic industries. The anti- 
mony salt, tartar emetic (double tartrate of antimony and potassium), and 
antimony fluoride are employed as mordants in dyeing. Tartar emetic and anti- 
mony trioxide are employed medicinally. 

War uses. — Antimonial lead carrying 12 to 13 per cent, of antimony is em- 
ployed in the manufacture of shrapnel bullets. Smaller quantities of liquated 
antimony sulphide are used in the primers of shells. For this last purpose it is 
claimed the material must carry less than 2 per cent, of impurities insoluble in 

1 Bastin, E. S. : "Antimony in 1918, " Mineral Resources of the United States, 1918. 
U. S. Geol. Survey, 1919. 

172 



ANTIMONY 173 

hydrochloric acid. Antimony sulphide as a powder is used in the charge of some 
shells to produce on explosion a white smoke which is of service in range finding. 

During the war Germany used antimony to some extent as a substi- 
tute for more important metals in the manufacture of currency, but 
shortage of antimony itself did not allow this use to become important. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The geological distribution of commercial antimony depends, with 
a few exceptions, upon the distribution of the principal ore mineral, 
stibnite (antimony sulphide) . Cervantite, sernarmontite and valentinite 
are antimony oxides resulting directly from the decomposition of stib- 
nite near the surface, and with other oxidized products form the chief 
ores of certain districts. Metallic antimony, also a result of oxidation 
of the sulphides, is rarely found, and still more rarely is it an ore mineral. 
Jamesonite, the sulphide of antimony and lead, is of frequent occurrence 
and is the principal ore of one important deposit in Mexico. Antimony- 
is also recovered from the refining of antimonial lead. 

Stibnite occurs in quartz veins and related deposits. Many of the 
important antimony deposits of the world occur in more or less close 
genetic relationship with eruptives of Tertiary age. The ore often gives 
way to pyrite with depth. A few important deposits occur in connection 
with intrusive rocks formed at considerable depth and are probably of 
contact metamorphic origin. 

Although there is a wide diversity in the forms of the deposits and the 
nature of enclosing rocks, stibnite shows a distinct tendency to form 
replacements in limestone. The chief gangue minerals are quartz and 
calcite. Of other sulphides pyrite is the commonest, but cinnabar, 
realgar, chalcopyrite, galena, and sphalerite are often present as acces- 
sories. A characteristic feature of stibnite deposits is the relative scar- 
city of other sulphides; and it is equally true that important sulphide 
deposits of other metals rarely contain stibnite. An exception to the 
general rule is cinnabar, the sulphide of mercury, which is a characteristic 
mineral of certain stibnite veins. Likewise stibnite is one of the minerals 
most frequently associated with cinnabar deposits. 

Several of the most important antimony districts owe their produc- 
tion of that metal to the presence of recoverable amounts of gold. This 
is true of certain French, Hungarian, Australian, and South African 
deposits. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION, AND POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL 

CONTROL 

Although antimony has been produced at times from a great many 
localities in the world, in only a few countries have deposits been devel- 
oped to an important extent commercially. Under normal conditions 
of consumption the potential supply of antimony ore is far in excess of 
the demand. Consequently only those deposits that can be cheaply 



174 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



worked and are favorably situated with regard to markets, or contain 
appreciable amounts of other minerals, principally gold, have been ex- 
tensively exploited. 

The antimony-producing countries of the world may be divided into 
three groups as follows : 

1. Chief producing countries in order of importance: China, France 
and Algeria, and Mexico. 

2. Countries in which production is irregular in normal times but in 
which potential reserves are considerable, and production becomes im- 
portant at high-price levels: The former Austrian Empire, Bolivia, 
Australia (Victoria), Burma, South Africa, Italy, Spain, and Asia Minor. 

3. Countries in which normal production is small and in which known 
reserves are probably less important : United States and Alaska, Canada, 
Peru, Germany, Turkey (Asia Minor), Serbia, Portugal, Borneo, Indo- 
China, and Japan. 

Plate VI shows the geographical distribution of the .chief antimony 
deposits of the world. 

The production statistics of the various countries are so little in 
accord that it is impossible to give more than a rough comparison between 
the important producers. As nearly as can be estimated the output of 
antimony ore in 1913, the last year for which even approximately com- 
plete statistics are available, amounted to about 20,000 metric tons of 
recoverable antimony. The consumption is even more difficult to esti- 
mate, as customs figures for different countries vary widely. The follow- 
ing table shows the relative importance of the principal producing and 
consuming countries in terms of percentage of the world's output in 1913: 



Table 31. — Percentage of Antimony Produced and Consumed 



Country 



Percentage 

of 
production 



Percentage 

of 
consumption 



Austria- Hungary. . . 

France 

Germany 

Italy 

United Kingdom . . . 

Serbia 

Asia Minor 

Japan 

China 

Algiers 

United States 

Mexico 

Australia (Victoria) 
All other 



4 

24 

(small) 

2 



1 

1 



51 

1 



11 

4 

1 

100 



4 
20 
20 

2 
12 





10 



32 



(small) 
(small) 

100 



ANTIMONY 



175 




176 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

In the following discussion of the world's antimony resources, polit- 
ical control is largely indicated by the country headings, under which 
are summarized the essential features of the commercial control of pro- 
duction, by ownership of mines and reduction plants, and by trading 
interests. 

North America. 

United States. — Antimony deposits occur in many places in the United 
States, but during peace times the comparatively high costs of mining in 
this country do not permit competition with the Chinese and Mexican 
mines. A small production of antimonial lead from domestic ores was 
made prior to the war and a small amount of antimony recovered as a 
by-product of lead refining, but except for this the country was entirely 
dependent upon imported antimony. 

High prices following the outbreak of the war brought a quick response 
in the production of antimony ores. The mine production of antimony 
ore in 1915 was about 5,000 short tons containing 2,100 short tons of 
metal, and in 1916 was 4,500 short tons containing about 1,770 short 
tons of metal. The lower prices of 1917 were reflected in the decreased 
output for that year, amounting to 1,060 short tons of ore containing 
390 tons of metal. The 1918 production was 190 tons, containing about 
50 tons of metal. 

The chief producing states in order of importance were Nevada, 
California, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Arkansas. Utah 
and Arizona yielded insignificant amounts. In Nevada the Suther- 
land mine, in Humboldt County, was the principal producer. In Cali- 
fornia, the greater part of the output was from two mines in Inyo and 
Kern counties operated by the Western Metals Co., of Los Angeles, the 
ore being shipped to San Pedro, near Los Angeles, for smelting. In 
Washington the antimony was produced at the property of the Gold 
Creek Antimony Mining & Smelting Co., in Okanogan County. In 
Oregon the Jim Dandy mine, near Baker City, was the principal producer. 
In Arkansas one property in Sevier County yielded a noteworthy output 
of ore in 1916 and also a small quantity of metallic antimony at a local 
reduction plant. In Alaska the production was mainly from the Fair- 
banks district, the ore being shipped to Los Angeles and Seattle for 
smelting. 

The ownership of mines within the United States does not play an 
important part in the present control of the world's resources, inasmuch 
as production under normal conditions is insignificant. It is possible 
that with the development of new uses for antimony, and a greater de- 
mand for that metal, the reserves in this country may become of com- 
mercial importance. 

About 40 per cent, of the Mexican antimony output is controlled in 
the United States. An American-owned smelter was built during the war 



ANTIMONY 177 

at San Luis Potosi. Ores from mines in this region have also been 
shipped to the Western Metals Co. at Los Angeles. An American 
concern, the Antimony Corporation, owns a large deposit of jamesonite, 
antimony-lead sulphide, in Mexico, which constitutes an important 
reserve that has not yet been developed. Antimony deposits in northern 
Mexico were worked by American capital during the war. Prior to 
the year 1914 only one company in the United States had attempted the 
smelting of antimony. During the war considerable activity prevailed, 
however, and several companies undertook the smelting of foreign and 
domestic ores. China, Bolivia, and Mexico were the principal sources 
of supply. The success of all these enterprises has been only temporary, 
as under normal conditions the high cost of production in this country 
prevents successful competition with Chinese and Japanese metal. Am- 
erican smelting interests exert little control on the antimony of the 
world at present, and can not be expected to do so in the immediate 
future. The smelter capacity of the country is estimated at 6,000 to 
7,000 tons of metal per annum, all of which is now idle. One company, 
the Antimony & Compounds Co. of America, is closely connected with 
a French company, La Lucette. 

Canada. — Antimony production in Canada has been extremely ir- 
regular. During periods of high prices a considerable output was ob- 
tained, the years of maximum production being 1898, with shipments of 
1,344 short tons of ore, and 1907, with 2,016 short tons. Mining ceased 
in 1910 and was not resumed until 1915. In 1915, 1,341 tons of 40 per 
cent, (metal content) ore were produced; in 1916, 885 tons of 42 per cent, 
ore; and 361 tons in 1917. 

The principal producing district is at West Gore, Nova Scotia, where 
the ore in addition to its antimony content has a tenor of 2 to 4 ounces 
of gold per ton. Other regions that have produced antimony ore are 
New Brunswick (York County), British Columbia, Quebec, and Yukon 
Territory. In British Columbia (Slocan District) and Yukon Territory 
(Chieftain Hills) antimonial lead ores are also worked. The Nova Scotia 
ores, which furnished the bulk of the production, have been exported to 
England since 1915; the earlier production went to Germany. The small 
production of refined antimony came chiefly as a by-product of lead 
refining at the smelter of the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Co., at 
Trail, B. C. ; a small amount of antimony was also smelted from antimony 
ores by the New Brunswick Metals, Ltd. (formerly the Canadian Anti- 
mony Co.) at Lake George, N, B. Canada appears to be in about the 
same position as the United States with reference to antimony mining. 
High prices, continued over a long period, will bring out a considerable 
production, but no output is to be expected at peace-time prices. 

Mexico. — Antimony deposits exist in many parts of Mexico and there 
has been a considerable production for many years. As in other coun- 

12 



178 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

tries, the output increased largely during 1915 and 1916. The production 
of metallic antimony for 1917 is reported as 2,141 metric tons. In 
1914 there were exported to England 1,543 long tons of crude antimony 
and regulus; there were no exports to England in 1918, but 1,449 short 
tons of ore and 2,660 of metal were shipped to the United States. 

The principal mines are in the Sierra Catorce, in the states of San 
Luis Potosi and Queretaro. The ores are mixed sulphides and oxides 
and carry 5 to 50 per cent, antimony. 

A smelter with an annual capacity of 6,000 tons of metal was built at 
Wadley in 1900, and most of the production formerly went to England, 
but since 1915 has been marketed in the United States. The smelter 
and most important mines are owned by Cookson's, of England, through 
a subsidiary, the Republican Mining & Metal Co. American interests 
own other properties in the same region, and during the war a smelter 
was constructed at San Luis Potosi by the International Mining & 
Metal Co. In western Sonora, near the Gulf of California, there are 
deposits of oxidized ores that furnished a considerable part of the ore 
imported into the United States. These are owned by American capital. 

A large deposit of lead-antimony ore (jamesonite) at Zimapan, Hidal- 
go, owned by The Antimony Corporation, an American firm, has not yet 
reached the producing stage. Other deposits of possible importance 
are known in the states of Guerrero, Durango, Sonora, Mexico, Baja 
California, and elsewhere. 

Political disturbances during the last few years have prevented an 
output of antimony commensurate with the probable capacity of the 
deposits. Production will probably be maintained in the future, even 
during periods of low prices. 

South America. 

Bolivia. — The output of Bolivia was negligible before the war, but 
under the stimulus of high prices large amounts of high-grade ore were 
produced in 1915 and 1916. This ore was shipped principally to Eng- 
land, until an embargo was placed on Bolivian ore in 1918. The ore is 
high grade, that shipped averaging over 50 per cent, antimony, but the 
veins are small and become unproductive at shallow depth. It is pos- 
sible that the known deposits have been largely exhausted; and although 
demand as strong as that of 1916 might result in new discoveries of im- 
portance, it is not likely that Bolivia can be an important producer when 
prices are under normal conditions. 

Exports of ore amounted to 17,923 metric tons in 1915 (as against 
186 in 1914); to 22,748 tons in 1916; and to 18,340 tons in 1917; but 
in 1918, for reasons given above, shipments dropped to 3,070 tons. 
From 75 to 90 per cent, of the ore went to England, and most of the re- 
mainder to the United States, except for about a thousand tons a year to 
France. 



ANTIMONY 179 

Peru. — During the antimony boom of 1906-1907 a small amount of 
antimony was produced in Peru. No further production was made until 
1915, when 522 tons of high-grade ore was mined. In 1916 the production 
rose to 1,876 tons of 60 per cent. ore. The 1917 production was 902 
tons. Although deposits are known in many parts of the republic, over 
90 per cent, of the production has come from the department of Puno, 
in southern Peru. Up to the present, profitable mining has been possible 
only during periods of high prices, but the deposits are said to be exten- 
sive, and it is possible that improved transportation facilities would 
result in some production under normal conditions. 

Europe. 

Austria-Hungary. — The most important antimony deposits of the 
old Austrian Empire are those of Hungary and Bohemia. Others of 
minor importance are in Carniola, in Austria. The Hungarian de- 
posits in 1913 furnished 11,017 tons of ore containing 1,038 tons of metal; 
for the rest of Austria the output was 1,270 tons of ore, but only 89 tons 
of metal. The low antimony content of the Hungarian deposits is com- 
pensated by the gold content, and these deposits have produced much 
more regularly than those of the other parts of the empire. So far as 
known the reserves are fairly large, but production can hardly be expected 
to increase greatly. 

The productive capacity of both the Hungarian and Bohemian 
deposits is probably enough to supply local needs in normal times, and 
allow a surplus for export when economic conditions are favorable. 
Prior to the war, exports of regulus went to Germany and small amounts 
of ore were exported to France and England. During the war the Central 
Empires probably depended largely on the Austro-Hungarian deposits 
for their antimony supplies. All mines were worked by the government. 
It is known that certain mines that had been abandoned resumed opera- 
tions. 

France. — France is the most important antimony-producing country 
in Europe and also controls important productive deposits in Algiers and 
Indo-China. 

The French deposits are numerous but for the most part small. The 
most important of these is La Lucette, in Mayenne, where stibnite asso- 
ciated with auriferous pyrite has been mined for many years. This 
deposit was considered to be approaching exhaustion, but recent work 
is reported to have developed new ore bodies. The La Lucette company 
has recently extended its holdings in other parts of France, has bought 
properties in Algiers and the Transvaal, and in 1911 leased a smelter at 
Barcelona for the treatment of ores purchased abroad. The La Lu- 
cette company is also to some degree associated with the American firm 
of Antimony & Compounds Co. of America. Undeveloped deposits are 
known in Tunis, Morocco, French Guinea, and Madagascar, 



180 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

French control of foreign supplies is not of great importance. In ad- 
dition to its holdings in the Transvaal, the La Lucette company purchases 
some foreign ores. In 1913, 4,440 tons of antimony ore was imported 
from China, and 205 tons from Turkey. Foreign control of French de- 
posits is limited to a few companies. An Italian company, Miniere 
Fonderie d'Antimonio, owns concessions in France and Corsica, from 
which the production before the war was about 3,500 tons of ore per year. 
The great Belgian smelting company, Societe de la Vieille Montagne, 
owns the most productive Algerian deposit — the Hamman N' Bails mine; 
and an unimportant Algerian mine was, prior to the war, owned by Beer, 
Sondheimer & Co., a German firm. 

In 1913, France produced 20,872 metric tons of ore carrying about 
32 per cent, metal content. The smelter output in 1913 was 6,390 
tons of regulus and oxide. France is normally an exporter of metallic 
antimony, the average annual exports during the period of 1910-1914 
amounting to about 2,000 metric tons. The principal purchasers were 
United States, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Russia. According 
to recent information, the surplus production of antimony in France is 
now so large that the industry can hardly continue to exist on a paying 
basis unless the producers come to an understanding among themselves. 
It is clear, however, that to be effective, any agreement among French 
producers must be either backed by a high protective tariff or must be 
extended to include their principal foreign competitors. 

Germany. — In Germany the antimony output is too small to affect 
appreciably the world's market, but a few localities have possibilities of 
production when the price of antimony is sufficiently high. One plant in 
the Eifel district in 1915 was producing 25 to 30 tons of regulus and 60 to 
70 tons of oxide a month. There was, however, a production of antimo- 
nial lead from the smelters that may amount to 1,000 tons or more of 
antimony a year. This is derived in part from German ores, especially 
the lead-zinc ores, and in part from ores of foreign origin. 

Germany's interest in the antimony market is chiefly that of the 
smelter and middle man. Average annual imports, 1910-1913, were as 
follows: Ore, 3,668 tons; metal, 3,398; salts, 668. The exports averaged, 
ore, 566 tons; metal, 331; salts, 1,226. The principal purchasers of metal 
were the United States and Russia; and of salts Russia and England. 

German interest in foreign deposits was not extensive. The Metall- 
gesellschaft seems to have had some connection with an Italian company, 
the Miniere Fonderie d'Antimonio, owning mines in Italy and France, 
and Beer, Sondheimer & Co. was recorded as the owner of one Algerian 
mine. 

Great Britain. — Although deposits were formerly worked in Cornwall, 
Devon, and elsewhere, no antimony has been mined in England since 
1892, but before the war England was the chief smelting center of the 



ANTIMONY 181 

world, and several brands of British antimony, such as Cookson's and 
Hallett's, had a world-wide reputation. Deposits of considerable impor- 
tance exist in many of the British possessions. 

Cookson & Co., of Newcastle, control mines in the Catorce district, 
San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and operate a smelter, the output from which 
was shipped to England for further refining until 1915, when the supply 
was in large part diverted to the United States. 

England, through her smelting interests, has played an important 
part in the antimony trade of the world. Seven smelters in England 
refine ore and crude metals that come chiefly from China, but also from 
Mexico, Australia, and Hungary, and, during the war, in large quantities 
from Bolivia and Spain. The better British brands have been considered 
more pure than other grades, and before the war virtually monopolized 
American markets. 

British trading interests have exerted important control both in 
securing raw material for British smelters and in obtaining markets for 
British metal. Until 1914 the Chinese Eastern Antimony Co., a sub- 
sidiary of Cookson & Co., held contracts for the production of the Wah 
Chang Mining & Smelting Co., the most important antimony producers 
in China. In 1914, the Wah Chang Co. established an independent 
selling agency in the United States. During the great demand for anti- 
mony in 1915 and 1916, British interests secured the greater proportion 
of the output of Bolivian mines and completely controlled the industry 
of that country. 

Italy. — Italy is the third important antimony producer of Europe. 
The principal deposits are those in the southern part of the island of Sar- 
dinia. During the war, however, the Tuscan deposits were reopened 
and there has been also a small production from Sicily. The grade of 
the ore is low, probably on the average less than 25 per cent., and the 
production, which was 7,609 tons of ore in 1900, had fallen in 1913 to 
1,822 tons. War conditions stimulated the industry, and in 1915, 1916, 
and 1917 the production averaged over 5,000 tons annually, although 
the imports of metallic antimony also increased, being as follows: 191 
tons in 1914; 825 in 1915; 155 in 1916; and 1,247 in 1917. 

The low metallic content of the ore, together with the fact that in 
the Sardinia deposits the calcite gangue makes recovery more difficult, 
renders it probable that under peace-time conditions and prices, 
Italy will not become an important factor in the world's antimony 
production. 

The chief producing company, Miniere Fonderie d'Antimonio, was, 
prior to the war, closely connected with the German Metallgesellschaft, 
and the richest Sardinian ore went to Germany for smelting. Besides 
mines in Italy, this company owned several productive deposits in 
France. 



182 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Portugal. — A small amount of antimony ore, 100 tons in 1912 and 
19 tons in 1913, is produced in Portugal. Exports in 1916 exceeded 
4,000 tons. 

Russia. — Antimony and argentiferous lead-antimony deposits are 
known in the Urals and were under development in 1912. Antimony 
deposits also occur in the Amur province and in many localities in Siberia. 
In 1915, 67 tons of regulus was imported into England from Russia. 
Possibly, however, this represents an overland shipment of Chinese 
material. 

Serbia. — Serbia contains several antimony deposits of considerable 
promise. The production, however, has been small. No data are 
available since 1912. The output of regulus and oxide, which amounted 
to 4,725 metric tons in 1904, had decreased to 297 metric tons in 1912. 
The greater part of the product was formerly shipped to the United 
States. Plants at two of the mines are capable of a considerable output 
should conditions warrant it. It seems unlikely, however, that the Ser- 
bian deposits will play an important part in determining the control of 
the world's production. 

Spain. — Antimony deposits are known in many localities in Spain. 
Most of these are irregular and have been repeatedly worked and aban- 
doned. A few, however, offer some promise of a continued output. 
The annual production has scarcely exceeded 500 metric tons of ore, 
even under the stimulus of war conditions (516 tons in 1916, and 502 
tons in 1917). The smelter production in 1916 was 425 tons. Shortly 
after the outbreak of the war there were three smelters, the most impor- 
tant being operated by the French company, La Lucette. 

Before the war Spain imported annually 800 tons of antimony ore 
from France, and over 100 tons of salts of antimony was exported annu- 
ally to Germany. 

Asia. 

Borneo. — British Borneo was formerly a producer of considerable 
importance, and much ore was exported between 1859 and 1894, mainly 
to England. The deposits then remained idle until 1914, when 870 tons 
of ore was exported; in 1915 the exports amounted to about 360 tons. 
It is probable that no important output at peace-time prices is to be ex- 
pected, although the country is largely unexplored. The Borneo com- 
pany (British) seems to have been the principal if not the only producer. 

China. — With all her vast mineral resources China has been able to 
obtain an important position in the world's markets with regard to but 
few metals. Of these antimony is the most striking example, for since 
1908 over 50 per cent, of the world's total antimony production has come 
from China. In 1913 the output was estimated to be the equivalent of 
10,800 tons of metallic antimony, that of the whole world being about 
20,000 tons. The Chinese industry being well-established, it was able 



ANTIMONY 183 

to respond rapidly to the great demand of the war. Exports increased 
from 14,361 short tons of regulus and crude antimony, and 4,795 tons 
of ore, in 1913, to 38,142 tons and 8,667 tons, respectively, in 1917. 

• Antimony is found over widely scattered areas in the central and 
southern provinces, but chiefly in the provinces of Hunan, Yunnan, 
Kweichow and Kwangsi. In Hunan the deposits have been most ex- 
tensively exploited, probably 90 per cent, of the total production of China 
coming from the region about Changsha, the center of the smelting 
industry. Here, in the Hai-Keng-Shan district, in 1915 about 70 com- 
panies mined antimony along the outcrop of the deposits. The ore, 
remarkable for its purity, occurs as pockets and bunches, mainly of 
stibnite, in a flat bed of dolomitic limestone. Several local smelters 
produce liquated sulphide, and the output of the district is about 1,000 
tons monthly of crude antimony averaging about 70 per cent, metallic 
antimony. All regulus manufacture is controlled by the Wah Chang 
Co. In the Panshi district the ore occurs as fissure veins in slates, 
shales, and quartzites. The output consists of about 400 tons monthly 
of 30 per cent, ore, all of which is shipped to Wah Chang Co. at Changsha 
for treatment. 

The only district in Yunnan where antimony is dealt with commer- 
cially is near Chihtsun on the Tongking- Yunnan Railroad. The Pao 
Hua Co., connected with the Wah Chang Co., owns a French-constructed 
plant and produces high-grade regulus. 

The Wah Chang Mining & Smelting Co. virtually controls the pro- 
duction of antimony ore, regulus, and crude in the Province of Hunan. 
This company operates smelters in Changsha and owns low-grade mines. 
It possesses a complete monopoly, granted by the Peking government, 
for the manufacture of regulus in Hunan and owns the patent rights in 
China for the Herrenschmidt furnace, the most successful means of 
reducing low-grade antimony ores. The mines themselves are mostly 
native-owned, and worked in a small way. 

Prior to the war, exports of Chinese antimony were chiefly in the 
hands of English, French, and a few German firms. The New Chinese 
Antimony Co. (also known as the Chinese Eastern Antimony Co.) a sub- 
sidiary of Cookson & Co., of England, held a contract for the entire out- 
put of the Wah Chang Co. This contract was broken shortly after the 
war began, although the Wah Chang Co. paid a percentage on all sales to 
the New Chinese Antimony Co. for a year thereafter. The Wah Chang 
Trading Co. was organized as a direct selling agency in New York, and 
has established a large business in this country. 

With present high scale of wages for labor, and prices for material, it 
is difficult to see how this country can compete with China in the produc- 
tion of antimony. Adverse exchange conditions due to the high price of 
silver have probably nearly doubled the cost of production in. China and 



184 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

wages in that country have advanced. In spite of this, however, China 
can manufacture antimony far more cheaply than is possible in Europe 
or America; and probably, also, more cheaply than in Japan. 

Chinese antimony suffered from lack of advertising before the war, 
being largely excluded from this country by the British metal, but has 
now become firmly established in our markets, and its quality has proved 
equal to the best English grades. 

India. — Since the war, small amounts of antimony have been produced 
in Burma and Mysore. The total Indian ore production was 1,040 tons 
in 1916 and 130 tons in 1917. The most productive region was the 
Amherst district of Burma. Here the ore reserves are said to be con- 
siderable, but the inaccessibility of the district has made production 
impossible except at high prices. The production from Mysore was 
only 26 tons in 1916. 

Indo-China. — There are productive deposits of possible future im- 
portance in French Indo-China. In 1916 these produced 1,437 tons of 
antimony ore with a metal content of 642 tons. Smelters were operated 
by the firm of Schon & Rhay, and both native and Chinese ore was 
treated. In 1914 and 1915, 883 and 630 tons of antimony ore were 
exported to France. 

Japan. — Very little antimony ore has been produced in Japan since 
the development of the Chinese deposits, although, as in most other 
countries, there was a renewed development during the war. The smelt- 
ing of Chinese ores in Japan has become extremely important ; and the 
smelter production, which was only 32 tons in 1914, rose to 8,189 tons 
in 1915, and to 10,633 tons in 1916. It was 6,562 tons in 1917. The 
production of metal and crude from domestic ores was only 186 tons in 
1915 and 286 tons in 1916. It is probable that as long as cheap ore is 
available in China little production from Japanese deposits is to be 
expected. 

Japanese ownership in Chinese mines is probably small, as practically 
all Chinese antimony bought by Japan has been purchased in the open 
market in the form of crude and ore. Since 1914 Japan has played an 
important part in the smelting of Chinese ore and matte, and in this 
regard has ranked second only to China. Prior to that time, however, 
production was insignificant. China is now in a position to supply direct 
the major part of the world's requirement of metal, having largely ex- 
tended her f acilities for treating antimony ores, and it is doubtful whether 
Japanese smelters will long be able to compete successfully. 

Turkey. — The antimony production of the Turkish Empire comes 
from Eastern Asia Minor in the vilayets of Brussa and Smyrna. The 
productive district of Allchar, formerly in European Turkey, passed to 
Serbia after the last Balkan War. The deposits seem to be rich and 
capable of greater development. Bad government, lack of transportation 



ANTIMONY 185 

facilities, and excessive export duties seem to have retarded production. 
Some mines were the property of the Sultan, and development was 
hindered by excessive royalties. Most of the mines seem to be owned 
or leased by Greeks. Deposits of antimony ores associated with argen- 
tiferous lead ores are reported in the vicinity of Karahissar, in Armenia. 
In 1914 the concession for these was held by the Asia Minor Mining Co., 
presumably a British corporation. Undeveloped deposits of possible 
importance occur in the islands of Mytelene and Chios, now in Greek 
ownership. 

Little information is available as regards production. In 1911 the 
Djinli Kaya mine produced 1,500 tons of 50 per cent. ore. The 1912 
production of Asia Minor is reported as 677 tons of ore. Exports of 
antimony ore from Turkey to Great Britain were as follows: 1910, 303 
(metric) tons; 1911, 773 tons; 1912, 1,108 tons; and in 1913, 408 tons. 
Some ore was also shipped to Austria, and, in 1913, 205 tons went to 
France. It seems probable that, given good government and improved 
transportation facilities, an increased production could be obtained from 
the region even at peace-time prices, for according to the best available 
information the deposits are large and much of the ore is high grade. 

Africa. 

Algiers. — The Algerian deposits are probably capable of considerable 
development, as is shown by the response to the increased demand in 
1915 and 1916. The ores are nearly all oxidized and contain various 
rare antimony minerals. Prior to the war the chief production consisted 
of antimonate of iron, mined together with lead and zinc ores at Hamman 
N' Bails. During the war large deposits of oxides were developed and 
were supplying antimony at the rate of 300 tons per month during the 
early part of 1918. In 1912, there was produced 4,661 tons of ore; in 
1913, 582 tons; in 1914, 1,100 tons; in 1915, 9,022 tons, and in 1916, 
28,473 tons. Apparently the ore produced carries around 40 per cent, 
antimony (metallic content). 

The mine of Hamman W Bails is owned by the great Belgian smelting 
company, the Societe de la Vieille Montagne; and the La Lucette com- 
pany (French) owns the productive Ain Kerma oxide deposits. Prior 
to the war, the German firm of Beer, Sondheimer & Co. was listed as the 
owner of one of the less important mines. 

British South Africa. — Several antimony deposits are known in 
British South Africa, seemingly the most promising being those of the 
Murchison Range in the northern Transvaal. Here auriferous stib- 
nite occurs as veins and replacements in limestone over a considerable 
area. The ore as mined carries 3 to 6 dwt. gold and 7 to 10 per cent, 
antimony. Sales and shipments of concentrated and crude antimony 
were as follows: 1913, 48 tons; 1914, nothing; 1915, 91 tons; 1916, 722 
tons; and 1917, 617 tons. 



186 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



The principal mine of the range, the United Jack, was purchased in 
1917 by the La Lucette company (French). In 1916 there were four 
producing mines in the district. The antimony deposits of the Steyns- 
dorp district, near the Swaziland border, were under development in 
1916, and antimony deposits are known in the Forbes Reef district in 
Swaziland. Antimony ores are found over a considerable part of south- 
ern Rhodesia, and this district would probably be capable of a consider- 
able output with better transportation facilities and continued high 
prices. Ore production in 1916 and 1917 was 38 and 15 tons. Some of 
the mines, such as the Hope Fountain, near Bulawayo, are chiefly gold 
producers, antimony being a by-product. 

Australia. — The only antimony-producing district of any importance 
in Australia is the Costerfield district of Victoria. Here stibnite and 
antimony oxides occur in quartz veins cutting Ordovician slates. The 
antimony concentrates, which average about 48 per cent, antimony, and 



Table 32. — World's Production of Antimony (1912-1917) 

Approximate recoverable metal content of ore produced, metric tons; antimonial lead ores not included 





1912 


t 1913 


1914 


1915 


1916 


[1917 


Principal financial control 


United States. . . . 






3,500 

40 


1,350 


2,290 

310 

170 

40 

300 

940 


10,800 

70 



110 



270 

580 

30 










2,340 

30 


840 



5,170 

360 



10 

250 2 

180 
30 

11,000 

20 







240 

960 

10 










1,570 

70 


l 
l 
i 
110 

1 
1 

320 


15,900 

30 





300 

l 

890 

20 






1,760 
420 
2002 

7,170 
260 

i 

7002 

i 

720 
100 

2,740 
50 

10,500 

180 



160 

120 

l 

1,300 

320 

80 




1,420 
300 
450 2 

9,100 
930 

1,080 

170 

1,0002 

8,940 
380 

42,800 

280 

400 

510 

l 

l 

1,320 

310 
80 
20 


310 

120 

2,730 

7,340 
450 

i 

l 

960 

160 

300 
31,000 

50 
l 
l 
l 

150 
10 


United States 




Great Britan and United 




States. 
Great Britain 




Peru 


Austria-Hungary 
Germany 


Hungary 
Germany 
France 


Italy 


Italy 




France 


Portugal 

Serbia 


? 

? 

France 


British S. Africa . 


Great Britain and France 






India 


Great Britain 


Indo-China 


Great Britain 
Great Britain 


Asia Minor 


Turkey (Greece) 
Great Britain 


New South Wales 

Queensland 

West Australia. . . 


Great Britain 
Great Britain 
Great Britain 


Total 


20,800 


21,440 


24,4003 


35.400 3 


78,700 s 


54,3003 









1 No data. 

2 Incomplete data; actual production probably larger. 

3 Totals for years 1914-1917 include estimates of production of countries from which data are 
lacking. 



ANTIMONY 187 

also contain about 2^i ounces of gold per ton, are shipped to England. 
The annual production is rather regularly 2,500 to 3,000 tons of 
concentrates. 

The Hillgrove district, in New South Wales, was formerly of consider- 
able importance, the highest annual output being 2,450 tons of ore in 
1906. Recent production has been slight, and although a very large 
increase took place with the stimulus of war prices, the 1917 production 
was valued at only about 5 per cent, of that of Victoria. Insignificant 
amounts of antimony ore have recently been produced in Queensland 
and Western Australia. New Zealand yielded a small amount during 
the boom of 1906 and 1907, but no production is recorded since 1910. 

Imports of antimony ore into Great Britain from Australia in 1915 
amounted to 3,854 tons. 

Statistics of production (1912-1917) are given in the table preceding: 

POSITION OF THE LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS 

The United States. — The United States is the largest consumer of 
antimony in the world, requiring under normal conditions between 
7,000 and 8,000 tons of new metal, most of which, before the war, came 
from England. The consumption during the war was about double 
this amount, and was derived chiefly from the Orient, South America, 
and Mexico. The United States must remain dependent upon foreign 
sources for its supply, unless a much higher tariff is placed upon imports. 
Even under such conditions it is doubtful whether domestic mines would 
prove adequate to supply more than a small part of the country's needs. 

Chinese and Japanese antimony has largely replaced the British 
product since 1914 and has become so well established that it will prob- 
ably continue to hold American markets. Chinese antimony in particu- 
lar has shown itself equal in every way to the best British grades. With 
a somewhat higher level of prices the importation of ore from Mexico 
and South America may be undertaken by reducing plants in this country, 
as the experience gained by several companies during the war has made 
possible the production of high-grade metal. 

England. — -No figures as to the actual consumption of antimony in 
England are available. Judged from a balance of imports and exports, 
the normal consumption is about 4,500 tons annually. During the war 
consumption was enormously increased for the manufacture of munitions. 
English smelters are entirely dependent on foreign ores, most of which 
in the past have come from China, with smaller amounts from Mexico 
and Australia. The position of the industry, at least in so far as export 
tiade is concerned, is threatened by the strong position of the Chinese 
industry acquired during the war, as represented particularly by the 
activities of the Wah Chang Mining & Smelting Co. Two-thirds of the 



188 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

English antimony exports went to the United States before 1914. It 
does not seem probable that England will be able to fully recover this 
market, now dominated completely by Chinese and Japanese antimony. 

France. — 'France is the only world power that possesses important 
resources of antimony within her boundaries. Including her Algerian 
mines, she is entirely independent of outside supply. Inasmuch as cer- 
tain of the French deposits contain important amounts of gold, and the 
principal Algerian mine contains lead and zinc, the production of anti- 
mony in France will probably continue to be of some importance, and 
it is probable that she will continue to export antimony as before the 
war, though probably to a less extent. 

Germany.— Germany, prior to 1914, consumed about 20 per cent, of 
the world's annual output of antimony. Her own resources of antimony 
are insignificant, and German interests in foreign deposits have not been 
widely extended but were rather those of smelter and middleman, raw 
material being drawn chiefly from China, and metal and salts being 
exported to the United States, Russia and Great Britain. During the 
war Germany drew largely upon Hungary for antimony supply, but 
it is known that this source could not adequately meet the demand. 

Japan. — Japan's actual consumption of antimony has never been 
large and before the war was confined largely to the production of " white 
metal" boxes, trays, and other articles. During the war her importance 
in the antimony trade rested upon her ability to supply a large part of the 
needs of the Allies, principally Russia, and later the United States 
and Canada. How long after the war she will be able to retain her posi- 
tion is uncertain. Favorable freight rates to Japanese shippers, and the 
fact that the present high price of silver and the consequent exchange 
conditions affect adversely Chinese production may enable Japan to 
continue a factor in the antimony trade. 

RECENT CONDITIONS IN THE INDUSTRY 

Owing to the very high prices prevailing for antimony during 1915 
and 1916, caused by a greatly increased demand for antimony for the 
manufacture of munitions, several countries became large producers. 
The most important among these were Bolivia, Mexico, and Algeria, 
but Victoria and the United States, Peru, Burma, and Spain all contrib- 
uted substantial amounts. With the possible exception of Algeria — 
whose principal mines yield considerable lead and zinc and are situated 
near to French reduction plants — and of Mexico, none of these countries 
will be important factors in the production of antimony at the usual 
low prices prevailing for that metal. 

The sudden ending of the war found the belligerents with large stocks ' 
of antimony on hand, the English holding, according to figures published 



ANTIMONY 189 

by the British Ministry of Munitions on March 1, 1919, 4,325 long tons 
of regulus. There is reason to believe that the other Allies had stocks 
of the same order of magnitude, and if so there must have been about 
a 37-ear's supply available on April 1, 1919, as the 1913 consumption of 
antimony amounted to only about 20,000 tons. In addition there were 
large supplies of alloys and antimonial lead available and more will 
undoubtedly be obtained by salvage operations. It may be expected, 
therefore, that until these are absorbed the production of antimony will 
be even less than that of pre-war years. At present there is little induce- 
ment for mining. Costs of mining have increased everywhere. China, 
the largest producer, faces a particularly difficult situation, for the higher 
price of silver has resulted in doubling costs of labor and local supplies. 
If silver prices remain high after the demand for primary antimony 
has recovered, the other antimony-producing countries, not on a silver 
basis, will have a corresponding advantage over China in the matter of 
production. 

SUMMARY 

The peace-time consumption of antimony is limited rather by the 
relatively restricted uses to which antimony is put than by any lack of 
potential supply. As a consequence, steady production has been main- 
tained only from those districts in which working expenses are low and 
markets readily available, or in which the deposits contain other metals of 
value. Modern warfare, however, creates a special use for antimony — 
in the manufacture of shrapnel — which requires many times the amount 
of antimony necessary for ordinary peace uses. In the case of each of 
the three important wars of the last twenty years, the Boer War, the 
Russo-Japanese War and the Great War, the curves of antimony prices 
and production have risen sharply in accordance with the demand, and 
have fallen as rapidly after the need for munitions was past. 

China has for long been the most important source of antimony and 
will doubtless retain that position for many years. Steady though less 
important production has been maintained in France, Austria-Hungary 
and Mexico, while several other countries produced important amounts 
as a result of the largely increased demands of the war. Chief among 
these were Bolivia, Algeria, and Australia. 

England dominated the antimony market prior to 1914 through her 
large smelting interest, trade agreements in the Orient, and selling 
agencies in America — the principal consuming country. Since that time, 
however, Chinese interests have become independent, and Japan has 
become of importance in the antimony smelting and trading field. 

The United States possesses limited antimony resources which can be 
exploited only at very high prices, and is dependent almost entirely upon 



190 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

outside sources of supply. In the past this supply has been drawn 
largely from England, but more recently from the Orient and Mexico. 

Germany has insignificant antimony resources of her own, and de- 
pended for her supply during the war upon the Hungarian deposits, which 
were apparently inadequate to meet the demands. Her interests prior 
to the war were chiefly those of the smelter and middleman, and did not 
extend very largely to foreign deposits. 

The United States, France, Germany and Great Britain normally 
consume 85 per cent, of the antimony of the world, and of these France 
alone is independent of foreign sources of supply. 

The antimony trade of the world is largely controlled by a few com- 
panies, of which the most important are: Cookson's (British), Wah 
Chang Co. (Chinese), and Soci^te de La Lucette (French). The 
Mitsui Co. (Japanese), largely through shipping interests, has a con- 
siderable share in the Chinese and Japanese antimony trade. 



CHAPTER X 

MOLYBDENUM 

By R. B. Mooke 

USES OF MOLYBDENUM 

Molybdenum is used in the manufacture of ferro-alloys for making 
steel. As wire, it is used for supporting the filament in incandescent 
electric lamps. The wire is also employed for winding electric resistance 
furnaces and for this use has proved cheaper and better than platinum be- 
cause of the quicker heating and higher temperatures attainable. The 
metal has been successfully substituted for platinum and for platinum- 
iridium in electric contact-making devices. Molybdenum compounds 
are used in chemistry, particularly ammonium molybdate for the deter- 
mination of phosphorus. Fast colors in a variety of shades may be 
produced on leather by employing molybdenum tannate in conjunction 
with logwood extracts. It has been employed for color glazes in porce- 
lain and in coloring silks and rubber. 

The addition of molybdenum to steel increases the elastic limit with- 
out diminishing the ductility. Molybdenum can be substituted for a 
certain percentage of tungsten in high-speed steel, as a rule one part of 
molybdenum taking the place of two to three parts of tungsten. 

GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

Up to about 1916, practically all of the molybdenite concentrates 
produced came from Queensland, New South Wales, and Norway. 
Shortly after the opening of the war, interest was shown in the production 
of molybdenite in Canada, principally in the provinces of Ontario and 
British Columbia. During 1917 and 1918 there was a great deal of 
interest in the United States in molybdenum ores, and at the present 
time this country can probably produce molybdenite concentrates in 
quantity equaling if not exceeding the rest of the world put together. 
Some molybdenum is produced by Spain and Peru. 

Australia and Norway. — The first official record of a production of 
molybdenite in Queensland was in 1900, when the output amounted to 
12.3 short tons of high-grade material. The production gradually rose 
to 1 19 tons in 1906, and has not varied materially since that date, although 
the selling prices for concentrates increased considerably. The bulk 
of the material was mined at Wolfram Camp, in the Chillagoe field, 120 
miles southwest of Cairns, in Northern Queensland. The mines at 

191 



192 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



Bamford, in the same field, are credited with a small output. With the 
molybdenite ores are bismuth-tungsten ores, so that all three metals are 
produced. 

The production of molybdenite was first reported in New South Wales 
in 1902; in that year the output was 17 short tons. The total output to 
the end of 1914 was 498 short tons, valued at $264,000. The chief 
producing molybdenite mines are at Whipstick, in the Pambula division, 
at Kingsgate, in the Glenn Tnnes division, and near Deepwater, in the 
Deepwater division. Molybdenite is also being produced at Rocky 
River, in the Tantafield division, and in the Bathhurst division. The 
production at all of these localities has not been large — in no one year 
exceeding 100 tons of concentrates. 

In Norway, the production of high-grade molybdenite concentrates 
has averaged about 30 tons per annum since 1902. In 1906, an output 
of 1,129 short tons was reported. This probably refers to ore mined and 
not to concentrates produced. 

The chief molybdenite districts in Norway are the provinces of Lister, 
Mandal, and Nedenes, on the extreme southern end of the peninsula. 
The district of Fjotland, in the former province, is probably richer in 
molybdenite than any yet discovered in Norway. A mine at Knaben, 
in this district, has been the largest and probably the only successful 
producer in Norway. This mine, owned by George G. Blackwell & 
Sons, of Liverpool, England, 1 has made an average output of about 25 
short tons per annum. 



Table 33. 



-Production of Molybdenite in Queensland, 
and Norway 



New South Wales 





Queensland 


New South Wales 


Norway 


Year 
















Weight 


Value 


Weight 


Value 


Weight 


Value 




(short tons) 


(dollars) 


(short tons) 


(dollars) 


(short tons) 


(dollars) 


1902 


45.9 


26,770 


16.8 


8,960 


22 


16,100 


1903 


26.9 


10,220 


32.5 


21,960 


34 


21,400 


1904 


23.6 


13,010 


28.3 


13,270 


33 


17,400 


1905 


70.8 


41,340 


21.7 


12,200 


51 


16,300 


1906 


118.9 


74,330 


36.6 


23,350 


1,129 


14,200 


1907 


74.0 


41,080 


24.2 


17,340 


33 


12,900 


1908 


98.7 


44,960 


9.5 


4,520 


39 


13,400 


1909 


103.9 


45,120 


31.5 


15,810 


33 


12,100 


1910 


118.6 


58,640 


53.2 


27,580 






1911 


111.4 


64,610 


23.1 


12,610 


2 


800 


1912 


114.6 


84,420 


63.3 


18,030 


23 


5,400 


1913 


74.3 


92,460 


88.3 


33,100 


13 


3,200 


1914 


87.1 


185,830 


68.8 


55,720 







1 Reported taken over by a Norwegian company. U. S. Commerce Reports, 
September 24, 1918. 



MOLYBDENUM 193 

The production of molybdenite in Queensland, New South Wales 
and Norway, by years, is shown in the preceding table. 

Figures for more recent years indicate the total production in 
Australia of about 330 short tons per annum and 110 short tons in 
Norway in 1916. In 1917 the output in Norway was three times the 
1916 figures. 

North America. — As already stated, the chief molybdenite deposits 
in Canada are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. They 
are low grade and of course need concentration. The Canadian and 
British governments have been much interested in the concentration of 
these ores and the Canadian government has a mill engaged in experi- 
mental work and in commercial concentration. The Department of 
Mines has spent a good deal of time in experimentation, believing that 
molybdenite has an important future in metallurgy. 

The production in 1917 was about 80 short tons of high-grade concen- 
trates and was undoubtedly larger in 1918. 

Canada when properly prospected may produce a good deal more 
molybdenite than now. 

In the United States are a very large number of small molybdenum 
deposits, scattered over the western states from Washington to Arizona 
and from Colorado to California. There are two common minerals — 
molybdenite, or molybdenum sulphide, and wulfenite, or lead molybdate. 
Generally speaking, molybdenite is found in the northern states, and 
wulfenite in the southern states, but this rule is not without exception. 
In Arizona and New Mexico, the principal mineral is wulfenite, but there 
are some fairly large deposits of molybdenite, probably the best being 
at the Leviathan mines, in Copper Canyon, Mohave County, Arizona. 
This is the only molybdenite deposit that is being worked in New Mexico 
or Arizona. It is in the Cedar Valley mining district about three miles 
southeast of Copperville and about 25 miles east of Yucca. This ore 
carries a good deal of copper, as well as small traces of gold and silver. 
Some analyses have shown 2 or 3 per cent. MoS 2 and 1J^ to 2 per cent. 
copper with 0.02 ounce of gold and 1 to 4 ounces of silver per ton. The 
percentage of molybdenite is undoubtedly above the average, which 
does not exceed 1 per cent. The country rock is medium-grained gray 
granite, consisting of quartz, feldspar, biotite, muscovite and small 
amounts of other accessory minerals, such as zircon and apatite. The 
company has erected a mill and has succeeded in making a satisfactory 
separation of the copper from the molybdenite. 

The largest possibilities in Arizona and New Mexico are in mining 
wulfenite. This mineral is widely scattered over these two states, espe- 
cially Arizona, and is, to a great extent, associated with vanadinite. 
One of the greatest difficulties in concentrating wulfenite has been the 

13 



194 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

separation from vanadinite. The Bureau of Mines has worked on this 
problem for some time with partial success. 

The most important deposit of wulfenite is at the Mammoth and 
Collins mines, in Pinal County. They were originally gold mines, and 
when the value of molybdenum became evident, Colonel Randolph, 
owner of the Mammoth mine, decided that it would be worth while to run 
the tailings dump for wulfenite. He converted his mill to this purpose, 
and not only ran the Mammoth dump but also the dump at the old Yuma 
mine, in Pima county. The total amount of concentrates produced by 
Colonel Randolph and others in the vicinity during the three years 
1916 to 1918 are probably represented by 1,000 to 1,200 tons of wul- 
fenite concentrates. While these operations were going on, they rep- 
resented practically the only production of molybdenum concentrates 
in this country except on a very small scale. One other operating 
company is the Rowley Copper Mines Co., Gila Bend, Arizona, the 
ore being wulfenite and the principal impurity barite. The company 
has succeeded in making satisfactory concentrates, which carry, however, 
a considerable amount of barite. The Golden, Colo., station of the 
Bureau of Mines has run some tests on this concentrate and has made a 
partial separation of the barite and wulfenite. 

Molybdenite is found in a considerable number of places in Colorado, 
Montana, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Texas and other western and 
northwestern states, but the largest occurrence is in Colorado. Gener- 
ally speaking, the individual deposits in the West are not large enough to 
warrant the building of a mill for any one of them, and as the deposits 
are widely scattered, it is difficult to find a place where a custom mill 
could obtain a sufficient amount of ore. This is one of the chief diffi- 
culties in producing a large tonnage of molybdenite concentrates, out- 
side of Colorado. 

Probably the largest deposits of molybdenite in the world are at 
Climax, Colorado. These deposits are on the southwestern slope of 
Bartlett Mountain, Summit County, about 15 miles from Leadville. 
Outcrops are practically continuous across the whole length of the moun- 
tain and at places are one hundred to two hundred feet thick. The ore 
is rather granular and not flaky molybdenite, the average grade running 
about 8 per cent. M0S2. 

There are two operating companies, the Climax Molybdenum Co., 
a subsidiary of the American Metal Co., of New York and Denver, 
and the Molybdenum Products Co., of Denver. Both of these com- 
panies have erected mills having daily capacities of 200 tons. The mill 
of the American Metal Co. started continuous operation about March, 
1918, and that of the other company was completed shortly afterwards. 
Both companies claim that they can enlarge the capacity at short notice. 
The writer was in the mine of the American Metal Co. Evidently 



MOLYBDENUM 195 

a considerable part of the mountain is molybdenite, and without doubt, 
a very large tonnage can be produced. The Jackling interests recently 
acquired the adjoining properties owned by the Pingree Mines Co., 
but in 1918 had not built a mill or carried out any serious develop- 
ment work. 

Another very large group of deposits of molybdenite lies near Empire, 
Clear Creek County, Colorado, on the eastern slope of Red Mountain, 
at an altitude of about 11,000 to 12,000 feet. The deposits are 14 miles 
from the Empire station of the Colorado & Southern Railroad and are 
owned by the Primos Chemical Co., of Primos, Pennsylvania. The 
ore-bearing bodies consist of three veins of low-grade ore. The ore 
zone, that is, the ground included between the footwall of Vein No. 1 and 
the hanging wall of Vein No. 3 where cut by the tunnel, is about 200 feet 
wide. The veins vary greatly in width and are not particularly well 
denned, thin veinlets and stringers of ore running into the walls. The 
Primos Chemical Co. has worked these mines off and on for several 
years. About three years ago it built a mill near the mine, but produc- 
tion has been rather intermittent. This company has probably used all 
of its concentrates for making ferromolybdenum at its own works in 
Primos, Pennsylvania. 

A small mill has been erected at Pitkin, Colorado, in connection with 
the mine at that place owned by the Pennsylvania Molybdenum Mines 
Co., of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. A number of other deposits of 
considerable interest are found in Colorado, especially around Brecken- 
ridge, Summit County. Here the pegmatite veins consist largely of 
muscovite and quartz, with some feldspar, and carry biotite, chalcopyrite 
and accessory minerals. The difficulty here is to separate the molybde- 
num from the copper minerals and also from the mica, most of which 
floats with the molybdenite. 

Most of the developed molybdenum deposits of Mexico are in the 
State of Sonora. In the Sahuaripa district of eastern Sonora, the min- 
eral occurs with scheelite in rich pockets containing very large pieces of 
pure mineral. Some molybdenum ore has been shipped from the 
Montezuma copper district to the Empire Smelting & Refining Co., 
of Deming, New Mexico. Molybdenum is reported in several other 
Sonora localities. Near Coyame and Marquez, northeastern Chihuahua, 
the mines of the Compania Minera Aurora y Anexas produce molybde- 
num ore. Wulf enite is found abundantly with the lead ore of the Cuchillo 
Parado mine in the same district. The Jibosa copper mine of the 
American Smelters Securities Co., near Jimenez, Chihuahua, seems to 
carry considerable oxide of molybdenum, molybdite. It is not 
commercial at present. 

Molybdenite deposits are also reported in the states of Sinaloa, 
Oaxaca, Hidalgo, and Jalisco. 



196 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

RESERVES 

As the production of molybdenum ores in the past in all countries has 
been relatively small, probably none of the deposits have been worked out 
and an increased output can be obtained. This applies particularly to 
the United States. All of the work that has been done so far has been 
on an experimental basis, and possibly the only mine whose tonnage will 
be decreased by past production is the Mammoth mine, near Mammoth, 
Arizona, and there is no certainty that this mine can not continue to 
produce as much for some time in the future as it did during its period of 
operation. Just what production can be obtained in the United States 
is somewhat uncertain, but it is probable that the deposits at Climax, 
Colorado, will yield at least one thousand tons of ore a day for several 
years and possibly for a good many years. The deposits of the Primos 
Chemical Co. near Empire, Colorado, are also extensive and should 
give a large output for some time to come. The rest of the deposits 
mentioned are small compared with these two, but the total production 
of all of them might be large, were a steady market assured and custom 
mills erected. 

TREATMENT OF ORES 

In concentrating wulfenite ores some form of table concentration, 
with the addition of slimers, is generally used. The metallurgical treat- 
ment of the concentrates varies and is still very much in the experimental 
stage. There is opportunity for the development of a process that will 
give the patentee a considerable advantage over competitors. The 
Bureau of Mines has been working on this problem and has recently 
devised a method that seems to be as efficient as any other and possibly 
has some additional advantages. 

In the treatment of molybdenite the same methods are almost uni- 
versally used. First the ore is crushed to the required fineness and the 
molybdenite is separated by flotation, largely oil flotation. The metal- 
lurgy of the concentrate, now more or less standardized, involves roasting 
the concentrate to the oxide and treating this oxide in an electric furnace 
for the production of ferromolybdenum. With small improvements, 
this practice is likely to be maintained for some time to come. 

POLITICAL CONTROL 

The political control of the molybdenum deposits of the world is 
determined by the geographical location. At present most of the known 
deposits are controlled by the United States and Great Britain, the 
latter controlling those in Canada and Australia. The British and Cana- 
dian governments actually have a government mill in Canada. 



MOLYBDENUM 197 

COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

The Knaben mines, in Fjotland, the most famous and probably the 
only successful molybdenum mines in Norway, were acquired in 1905 by 
an English company, the Blackwell Developing Corporation. Later 
a newly organized Norwegian company, with head office in Christiania, 
took over the mines at a price of 2,500,000 crowns. 

In Mexico the large molybdenum deposit in the Sahuaripa district of 
eastern Sonora is owned by George Fast, of Douglas, Arizona. The 
Lucky Tiger-Combination Gold Mining Co., of Kansas City, Mo., 
(American) owns the deposits in the Montezuma district. Another 
American company has acquired deposits near Poza, Sonora, about 20 
miles north of Hermosillo. A deposit located 35 miles from the port of 
Topolabampo, northwestern Sinaloa, is owned by an American. The 
Compania Minera Aurora y Anexas, operating molybdenum mines near 
Coyame and Marquez, northeastern Chihuahua, is owned by the Madero 
estate. The ore has been shipped to Leonard Worcester, El Paso, Texas, 
agent for the estate and also purchaser for L. Vogelstein & Co., New 
York, formerly a branch of the German metals combine. 

In the United States, during the war the claim was made a number of 
times, both privately and in the press, that German interests were trying 
to obtain control of the molybdenum deposits of the country. This 
was due to the fact that the American Metal Co., which operates at 
Climax, Colorado, as the Climax Molybdenum Co., and which has 
some other molybdenum deposits, was formerly controlled by German 
interests. It is true that the majority of the stock of the American 
Metal Co. was owned in Germany, but Mr. Palmer, the Alien Property 
Custodian, took charge of this stock, and the affairs of the American Metal 
Co. were readjusted to changed conditions. The principal stockholders 
of the Primos Chemical Co. were four brothers by the name of Boericke. 
Before the war they had strong German connections, but outside of their 
deposits at Empire they made no special effort to get large molybdenum 
holdings in this country and did not seek to get a combination of 
any of the operating companies. The Primos Chemical Co. has since 
1919 been taken over by the Vanadium Products Corporation, affiliated 
with the Bethlehem Steel Corporation. The Molybdenum Products 
Co., Denver, Colorado, which owns a part of the molybdenum deposit on 
the slope of Bartlett Mountain, near Climax, and operates a 200-ton mill, 
is a subsidiary of E. J. Longyear Co., exploring engineers, of Minneapolis, 
Minnesota. Both companies are owned by American stockholders. 

In Canada and Australia it is certain that no one large interest has 
control, as the ore comes from a number of more or less independent 
small mines. 

A large number of patents have been issued in connection with the 
concentration and metallurgy of molybdenum. None of these is vital 



198 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

to production; most are valueless, and even those that have a distinct 
value do not necessarily give control to the owner of the patents or secret 
processes. 

In order to insure a steady demand for molybdenum, the prime requi- 
site is a definite knowledge of the properties and uses of molybdenum 
steel. In the past this has been lacking, and at present it is not possessed 
by the majority of operators and steel makers. Europe should assist 
materially in supplying this deficiency. Molybdenum steel at the 
present time is in the same position as vanadium steel was a number of 
years ago — it is on trial. This uncertainty caused a very decided slump 
in the demand for molybdenum concentrates in the spring of 1918. A 
control of molybdenum is more likely to come through the manufacture 
of molybdenum steel than through processes connected with the produc- 
tion of concentrates or ferromolybdenum. 

POSITION OF LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS 

At present the United States has the largest potential supply of 
molybdenum ores of any country in the world. In addition it has three 
of the largest and most modern mills that are handling ore from any 
molybdenum deposit. It is in a favorable position to equal or 
surpass, for some time, any other country, in output of molybdenum 
concentrates. 

Before the war Great Britain, through political control of the Austra- 
lian and Canadian deposits, was the world's leading producer. Some 
molybdenum came from Norway, but the amount was small as compared 
to the output of Australia, Norway producing in 1913 only 13 short 
tons and Australia 162.6. In both Canada and Australia the known 
deposits have not been worked to capacity and new deposits will prob- 
ably be discovered with proper prospecting, so that the future molyb- 
denum production under British control promises to increase. The 
Canadian and British governments are much interested in the develop- 
ment of the molybdenum resources of the dominion. 

France is entirely dependent upon England and the United States, 
although it might be able to get a small amount of concentrates direct 
from Norway. 

Germany was much interested in molybdenum before the war. Dur- 
ing the war it probably did not import any molybdenum concentrates 
at all, and as the world production before that time was small it is not 
likely that there was any reserve on hand in the empire in 1919. 

Japan has no molybdenum deposits as far as is known, and probably 
is not specially interested at present in the use of this metal. 

The distribution of the chief molybdenum deposits of the world is 
shown in Plate VII. 



MOLYBDENUM 



199 




200 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

SUMMARY 

Molybdenum commands attention because of its growing importance 
as a steel alloy metal. Although the metallurgy and properties of molyb- 
denum steels are not thoroughly understood and their use is not wide- 
spread, especially in this country, accumulating evidence indicates that 
molybdenum will eventually become one of the common alloy metals. 
It is used in the form of wire as supports for incandescent light filaments 
and in electrical apparatus, and may become essential in the manufacture 
of special steels. It cannot be easily replaced in chemistry, and for its 
other applications it is better and cheaper than other materials. 

Up to 1915 practically all of the molybdenum produced came 
from Queensland, New South Wales, and Norway. At present more 
important deposits are being developed in Ontario, Quebec, and British 
Columbia, Canada, and in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and 
other western states. The mineral is widely distributed and the 
discovery of additional deposits is likely if the demand is sufficient to 
encourage prospecting. The United States has deposits large enough 
to meet all domestic needs and also to produce a surplus for export. 
Some molybdenum is obtained from Mexico, Peru, and Spain, but the 
United States, Great Britain (Canada and Australia), and Norway 
control the important deposits. 

The largest molybdenum deposit in the United States, located at 
Climax, Colorado, is owned by the Climax Molybdenum Co., a subsidi- 
ary of the American Metal Co. (formerly German), and by the Molyb- 
denum Products Co., of Denver, an American company. Other deposits 
in Colorado are owned by the Primos Chemical Co., a company that had 
strong German connections before the war, but has been taken over by 
the Vanadium Products Corporation, an American company. Other 
producing deposits of the United States are owned by American citizens. 

The Knaben mines, the most important in Norway, have been owned 
since 1905 by an English company, but, according to a report, they have 
been acquired by a Norwegian company. A number of the deposits of 
northern Mexico are owned by Americans. Others are owned by the 
Madero estate (Mexican). The Canadian and Australian deposits are 
controlled by small, independent operators. Both the United States 
and Great Britain have ample supplies of molybdenum; France produces 
none and is dependent upon other countries; Germany, which was much 
interested in molybdenum before the war, probably has no large stocks 
on hand. 



CHAPTER XI 

RADIUM AND URANIUM 

By R. A. F. Penrose, Jr. 

Radium is a metal and is a product of the disintegration in nature 
of the metal uranium. Both radium and uranium are elements. Ra- 
dium has been isolated in its metallic state, but is not used in that form 
and is known better in the form of its salts, among the most important 
of which, so far as their uses are concerned, are the bromide, chloride 
and sulphate. 

Wherever uranium occurs in nature, radium is associated with it in 
certain definable quantities. Uranium can contain, however, only a 
certain maximum amount of radium at a time, and when it has reached 
this stage, the radium and uranium ratio is said to be in equilibrium. 
In this condition the amount of radium per gram of uranium has been 
calculated by Rutherford to be 3.4 X 10~ 7 gram. This corresponds to 
1 gram of radium element to about 3,000 kilograms of uranium element, 
or 1 part of radium element to about 3,000,000 parts of uranium 
element. Uranium minerals as mined are usually impure and carry 
only a small percentage of uranium elements, so that the ratio between 
radium and the crude uranium ore may be 1 to several or many times 
3,000,000. 

The production of radium from uranium is usually stated in milli- 
grams or grams, and even in the richest ores there is usually only a 
small fraction of a gram to a ton, while in the ordinary lower-grade ore 
there are only a few milligrams to a ton, corresponding to a small fraction 
of a grain to a ton. Less than twenty years ago it was estimated that 
probably not one gram of radium element in the form of its refined salts 
had been extracted in the world. Today a great many times, perhaps 
a hundred times or more, this amount has been extracted and is in use. 
The annual production of radium today in the world is probably several 
grams. The annual production of uranium in the world is probably 
several hundred pounds. 

The unique position of uranium as the source of radium in nature 
makes it necessary to discuss both materials together. 

Uses of Radium. — Radium is a heavy white metal which is very un- 
stable, and alters rapidly in the air. It is not used in its metallic 
stage but only in the form of its salts. A few years ago these salts were 
supposed to have a general beneficial effect in the treatment of cancer 

201 



202 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

and other malignant growths, but more recent investigations seem to 
confine their influence to only certain forms of these afflictions. Their 
influence in other diseased conditions is often very marked, but the full 
extent of the field of usefulness of radium for medical purposes has not 
yet been very clearly defined. 

In recent years radium has been applied to other important purposes, 
especially in luminous paint for watches, clocks, compasses and other 
instruments; and this use has so greatly increased in recent years, 
especially for military purposes, that it now consumes more radium than 
is used in medicine. Radium salts are more or less luminous when seen 
in a darkened room, and this quality is often increased by the admixture 
of certain other materials, notably zinc sulphide. Hence their value in 
luminous paints. Radium salts also cause certain minerals to fluoresce, 
notably the zinc minerals willemite and sphalerite. In Germany, where 
radium during the war became scarce on account of the shortage of 
the ores from which it is extracted, radium salts are said to have been 
preserved for medical purposes, and mesothorium and other radioactive 
substances used in making luminous paints. 

Uses of Uranium. — Uranium is a heavy white metal, which slowly 
tarnishes on exposure to the air. The chief use of uranium today is as a 
source of radium. For many years before the discovery of radium, 
however, uranium compounds were used in a small way in coloring glass 
and porcelain, in photography, in reagents for chemical analysis, in 
mordants for dyeing and for other minor purposes. The use of uranium 
metal in small quantities in steel manufacture has been tried with some 
degree of success. 

ORES OF RADIUM AND URANIUM 

General Statement. — The principal uranium minerals at present 
known in nature, which are therefore the principal sources of both 
uranium and radium, are carnotite and uraninite, with the impure 
amorphous form of uraninite known as pitchblende. Torbernite, 
autunite and some of the rarer uranium minerals have produced a 
little radium and uranium. 

Carnotite and uraninite or pitchblende as mined for ores are generally 
more or less mixed with other materials and are rarely found pure. The 
uranium in the ores is usually stated commercially, for convenience, in the 
form of the uranium oxides represented by the formula UO2+2UO3, 
briefly expressed as U3O8. Most carnotite ore varies from 1 per cent, 
to 3 per cent, of U 3 Os; a 5 to 10 per cent, ore is considered high grade; 
a 20 to 40 per cent, ore is remarkably rich. Uraninite and pitchblende 
ordinarily contain more uranium than carnotite contains, and even 
in the impure forms in which they are mined as ores, they often show 
this greater uranium content. The ordinary uraninite and pitchblende 



RADIUM AND URANIUM 203 

ores carry from 2 to 3 per cent, to 8 or 10 per cent. U 3 08, and a 20 per 
cent, ore is very high grade, though some ore runs 60 or 70 per cent. 

Carnotite. — Carnotite is an amorphous, soft, powdery material, 
sometimes more or less coherent and of a talcose or waxy character, 
generally of a brilliant canary yellow color, though sometimes discolored 
by iron, organic matter and other substances. It is essentially a hydrous 
potassium uranium vanadate. Some authorities believe that carnotite 
is not a distinct mineral, but a mixture of different minerals. 

Uraninite and Pitchblende. — The terms uraninite and pitchblende 
are often used synonymously to designate the same mineral, but more 
properly the term uraninite is a general name for all forms of the mineral 
and especially for the purer and distinctly crystalline variety, and the 
term pitchblende is applicable to the impure amorphous form. It is 
black or grayish black in color, opaque, and often has a submetallic glossy 
or pitchlike luster. Uraninite is often remarkably lacking in distinctive 
characteristics, so that its presence might frequently be overlooked. 
For this reason it seems possible that this mineral, now known in only 
comparatively small quantities, may some time in the future be found 
more abundantly. 

Uraninite, like carnotite, has a somewhat indefinite formula, but 
is essentially a combination of the two uranium oxides U0 2 and U0 3 , 
in which U0 2 seems to act as a base and U0 3 as an acid. A number of 
both the rarer and commoner elements are often associated with them. 
The relative amounts of the two oxides vary considerably in different 
specimens, especially in the impure form of pitchblende, and no definite 
formula can at present be given. In pitchblende a notable amount of 
water, perhaps sometimes in chemical combination, is often present. 
Several other minerals much rarer than uraninite or pitchblende are 
related to them in composition, among them being cleveite, broggerite and 
nivenite. 

Other Ores. — Though carnotite, uraninite and pitchblende are the 
most abundant of all the radium and uranium materials in nature, and 
produce almost all the radium and uranium of commerce, yet many other 
minerals contain both metals, and though as yet known only in such 
limited quantities as to be of small commercial value, may in the future 
be found in quantities of importance. Among them may be mentioned 
tyuyamunite, a hydrous calcium uranium vanadate often associated with 
the hydrous potassium uranium vanadate described above as carnotite; 
autunite, a hydrous calcium uranium phosphate; torbernite or chalcolite, 
a hydrous copper uranium phosphate. 

GEOGRAPHICAL AND GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION OF RADIUM AND 

URANIUM 

The only regions of the world that have as yet produced any large 
amounts of radium and uranium minerals on a commercial scale are 



204 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Colorado, Utah and Austria. Cornwall, Australia and Germany have 
produced a small quantity of these minerals. They are known in small 
quantities in France and Portugal, and have been reported in India and 
German East Africa, but in these regions they have not yet become com- 
mercially important. They occur sparingly, so far as yet known, and 
practically as only mineralogical curiosities, in Connecticut, North Caro- 
lina, Canada, Norway and many other regions, but may in the future 
be found in larger quantities. 

Minute quantities of radium or its products of disintegration occur 
in almost all rocks and in the atmosphere, and in the waters of the sea 
and land, but in such small amounts as to be unavailable as a source of 
these substances. The source of all radium of commerce at the present 
time is in the certain few uranium minerals already mentioned. They 
are found in formations of various geologic ages, from recent superficial 
deposits to the older crystalline rocks, but show a tendency toward certain 
modes of occurrence, such as in southwestern Colorado and southeastern 
Utah as an impregnation in sandstone; in eastern Colorado, Cornwall, 
Austria and South Australia as one of the gangue minerals in veins of 
other ores; in North Carolina, Canada, Norway and West Australia in 
pegmatite or other feldspathic dikes. 

RADIUM AND URANIUM RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES 

General Statement. — The commercially important deposits of ores 
of radium and uranium in the United States are, so far as yet known, 
confined to the carnotite regions of southwestern Colorado and southeast- 
ern Utah, and the pitchblende deposits of Gilpin County, in eastern 
Colorado. In Connecticut, North Carolina and elsewhere, uraninite, 
pitchblende and other uranium minerals have been found; and near 
Mauch Chunk, in Pennsylvania, small quantities of carnotite have been 
discovered, but these occurrences are, so far as known, in quantities too 
small to be of commercial value. 

Colorado and Utah. — The carnotite deposits of southwestern Colorado 
and southeastern Utah are the most important sources of radium and 
uranium in the world. In Colorado the largest quantities of ore have 
come from many mines in Montrose County, especially in Paradox Valley, 
while Mesa, San Miguel, Dolores, Rio Blanco, Routt and other counties 
have been producers. In southeastern Utah the ores are carnotite, as in 
southwestern Colorado, and occur especially in Grand, Emery and San 
Juan counties, but have not been worked to the same extent as in 
Colorado. 

The carnotite of Colorado and Utah occurs as an impregnation in 
sandstones and shaly sandstones, mostly in the McElmo and the La 
Plata formations, lying at the top of the Jurassic beds and below the Cre- 



RADIUM AND URANIUM 205 

taceous sandstones and conglomerates of the region. The deposits seem 
to have been formed by the precipitation of carnotite from solution 
along certain strata of these formations, and the material occurs along 
bedding planes, in fissures and small cavities, in layers or irregular 
masses from a fraction of an inch to several inches in width, and some- 
times as a general impregnation of the sandstone for several feet in thick- 
ness. It seems to be especially abundant in strata impregnated strongly 
with vegetable or animal matter, and is often in unusual quantities in 
lignitized or petrified trunks of trees. This phenomenon suggests the 
influence of organic matter in precipitating and segregating the carnotite. 

The rocks carrying the carnotite lie horizontally or dip at low angles 
in most parts of the Colorado region; in Utah they lie often in the same 
way, but occasionally dip at steep angles. Where they appear on the 
surface, the carnotite sometimes impregnates certain strata for several 
hundred feet or more along the outcrops, but more generally it occurs 
in spots along them, with little or no carnotite in the intervening spaces. 
As these outcrops are followed into the hillsides, the ore appears to be 
even more irregular in its distribution than on the surface, and in many 
or most cases it becomes much scarcer the further it is explored under- 
ground, until within 10 to 40 or 50 feet from the surface it often mostly or 
entirely disappears. There are exceptions to this feature, but the gradual 
and often rapid decrease in quantity and grade of the carnotite ore as it 
is followed into a hill is generally recognized. This fact suggests that 
the carnotite may have been redissolved in the sandstone and carried to 
the surface by capillary action in this arid climate, forming rich, 
superficial efflorescences. 

In many of the carnotite deposits, vanadium minerals occur inde- 
pendently of the vanadium in the carnotite, but this association is not 
always observed. They occur in sandstone and often give it a dark- 
gray or blackish color. 

In eastern Colorado several mines near Central City, Gilpin County, 
have produced limited quantities of pitchblende. Among these are the 
Kirk, the Wood, the Belcher, the Alps, the German and the Calhoun 
mines. The pitchblende occurs as a subordinate constituent in the gold- 
bearing veins of that country. The veins intersect old metamorphic 
rocks intruded by igneous rocks. The mines of Gilpin County are today 
producing little if any pitchblende, and the total production has been 
small, amounting in all probably to only a few tons. Much more pitch- 
blende, however, was let go to waste in former days when the mines were 
worked for other ores and the value of uranium was not recognized. 

Production. — 'The United States is today by far the largest producer 
of radium and uranium ores in the world, and is also the largest producer 
of manufactured radium and uranium compounds. Before the war, 
England, France and Germany, especially Germany, imported large 



206 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

quantities of American ores and extracted the radium in a refined state 
as its different salts, much of which was returned to the United States 
for sale. Now, however, American ores are almost entirely treated in 
the United States, with the exception of a little shipped to England and 
possibly to France. The Standard Chemical Co., of Pittsburgh, was a 
pioneer in this work, and others quickly followed, among them the 
National Radium Institute, of Denver; the Schlesinger Radium Co., of 
Denver; the Chemical Products Co., of Denver; the Cummings Chem- 
ical Co., of Lansdowne, Pa. ; the Radium Luminous Materials Corpora- 
tion, of New York, and others. 

Before the discovery of radium in 1898, but little attention was given 
to uranium ores in America, though some little pitchblende was shipped 
from the Central City, Colorado, region for use in making uranium com- 
pounds. Shortly after the discovery of radium, however, mining was 
begun on the carnotite of southwestern Colorado, and from 1900 to 1910 
several companies were formed to work these ores both in Colorado and 
Utah. The pitchblende of Central City also began to attract renewed 
attention. For a few years active work was done in prospecting for it, 
but the quantities have so far proved to be small. A few tons probably 
represent the total amount derived from these mines since the search 
began. In the meantime, however, the production of carnotite increased 
rapidly until 1915, when it greatly decreased on account of the curtail- 
ment of shipments to Europe. In the latter part of 1916, however, the 
production increased again, on account of the increased consumption of 
ore in this country, and in 1918 the production was very active, largely 
on account of the increased use of radium not only in medicine but 
especially in luminous paints. 

The amount of radium and uranium ores produced in the United 
States, or in fact anywhere t during a given period, is difficult to deter- 
mine, on account of the different bases on which reports are made, but it 
may be said that the tonnage is small compared with that of ores of com- 
moner metals, a few thousand tons being a large amount of carnotite, 
and simply a few tons or pounds being a large amount of pitchblende. 
Though the mining of radium and uranium ores in the United States 
began about 1900 or shortly before, no very large quantities were pro- 
duced until 1912, when about 1,100 tons were mined, consisting chiefly 
of Colorado carnotite. The production gradually increased to several 
thousand tons yearly, practically all of which is carnotite from Colorado 
and Utah. 

RADIUM AND URANIUM RESOURCES OF EUROPE 

Austria. — The most important radium and uranium ore in Europe 
at present is the uraninite or pitchblende found in the mines of 
Joachimsthal, in Bohemia. It occurs as a subordinate gangue mineral 



RADIUM AND URANIUM 207 

in certain silver veins of that region which intersect metamorphic and 
igneous rocks, and has been actively worked ever since the discovery of 
radium by M. and Mme. Curie in 1898. Before that time the mineral 
had a certain value as a source of uranium compounds. 

These Austrian mines are second to those of the United States as a 
source of radium and uranium, but their production equals only a 
very small part of that of this country. Until the Great War this 
production was controlled largely, if not wholly, by the Austrian govern- 
ment, and as the production is said still to continue, it is probably still 
controlled in the same way. 

England. — Next in importance in Europe to the uraninite or pitch- 
blende ore of Joachimsthal as a source of radium and uranium, is the 
similar ore in some of the mines of Cornwall, England. It occurs as a 
subordinate mineral in thegangue of some of the old tin and copper mines, 
in veins intersecting metamorphic and igneous rocks, especially at St. Just, 
St. Ives, Grampound Road, St. Austell and elsewhere. The production 
and treatment of the ore has been under private or corporate auspices 
and the amount produced has not been large. 

Germany. — In Germany the production of radium and uranium 
ores has always been insignificant. A small quantity of such ores has 
been produced at Schneeberg, Johanngeorgenstadt, Annaberg and else- 
where. Before the war, Germany was a large producer of manufactured 
radium and uranium compounds, but they were derived mostly from 
imported American ores. 

Other Localities.- — -With the exception of Joachimsthal and Cornwall, 
Europe has produced but small quantities of radium and uranium min- 
erals. A little uraninite or pitchblende has been found in other localities 
in Austria, such as Przibram and elsewhere, and sparingly in Norway. 
Autunite and other uranium minerals have been found in small quantities 
near Autun, France, and near Sabugal and Guarda, in Portugal, but no 
important quantities have been produced. 

RADIUM AND URANIUM RESOURCES OF AUSTRALIA, INDIA AND AFRICA 

Australia. — In South Australia carnotite, autunite, torbernite and 
other rare uranium minerals occur in regions of metamorphic and igneous 
rocks at Radium Hill, near Olary, and at Mount Painter, in the Flinders 
range. A few hundred tons of ore containing these minerals have been 
mined by private or corporation interests. Most of this has been sent 
to Woolwich, near Sydney, New South Wales, or to England, for the 
extraction of the radium. Since the war started no very active mining 
operations in such ores have been carried on in the South Australian 
region. 

At Cooglegong, in Western Australia, the uranium mineral fergusonite 



208 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

and to a less extent the uranium mineral euxenite occur in the surface 
detrital material of the region. At Wodgina the minerals mackintoshite, 
thorogummite and pilbarite, all hydrous silicates of uranium, thorium 
and lead, occur in an albite pegmatite dike. No important quantities 
of these Western Australia ores have yet been produced. 

India and Africa. — Radium and uranium minerals have been reported 
in India and German East Africa, but no important quantities have yet 
been produced. 

PROSPECT OF FUTURE DISCOVERIES OF RADIUM AND URANIUM ORES 

The prospect for increased discoveries of radium and uranium minerals 
at the present time seems best in the carnotite regions of Colorado and 
Utah. The workable deposits seem to be more or less superficial, and 
perhaps no large quantity of ore may be found in any one spot, yet the 
great extent of the region in which the formations carrying carnotite 
occur, will supply an immense aggregate amount of ore. 

Increased discoveries of uraninite, pitchblende and other uranium 
minerals in Europe seem possible, even though that continent has already 
been well explored for them. Moreover, new discoveries of different 
radium and uranium minerals may very likely be made in still other parts 
of the United States than those mentioned, and in less explored parts of 
the world, especially certain regions of South America, Australia, Asia 
and Africa. Many of these minerals, especially pitchblende, have no 
very distinctive features when first observed, and might readily be over- 
looked many times before their true nature was discovered. Hence 
the possibilities of future discoveries. 



CHAPTER XII 
ZIRCONIUM 

By H. C. Morris 
USES OF ZIRCONIUM 

As early as 1830 an attempt was made to use zirconia buttons, heated 
to incandescence, for lighting the streets of Paris. In 1885 an incan- 
descent gas mantle of zirconium oxide was patented, but was replaced in 
a few years by thorium. About 1900 zirconia was used in the Nernst 
glower, and it has also been used in place of lime and magnesia as the 
incandescing material in the Drummond light. It is also said to be used 
in the Bleriot light, and its use in flares has been suggested. 

During the past few years Dr. C. M. Johnson has succeeded in manu- 
facturing laboratory ware made from zirconium minerals mixed with 
other refractories. Filtering crucibles, muffles, combustion tubes and 
boats, pyrometer protection tubes, and Kipp generators are now on the 
market, competing in price with German porcelain and fused silica. 
Zirconia crucibles are made from the fused material ground in a suitable 
mill. The powder is pressed or molded into shape with an organic binder, 
such as starch, or perhaps, better still, with a plastic cement made by 
grinding the fused material to 20 mesh, when it becomes colloidal in 
the presence of water. After drying, the articles are burned at a very 
high temperature (2300 to 2400°C.) until contraction ceases. 

Fused zirconia has a high thermal endurance; is not affected when 
heated to redness and plunged into cold water, its coefficient of expansion 
being as low as 0.00000084; and its resistance to crushing is many times 
that of quartz glass. Its hardness is between that of corundum, and 
quartz; its specific gravity 5.89, and porosity below per 1 cent. Its melt- 
ing point is 2950°C, but 0.5 per cent, impurity reduces that by 100°C. 
Platinum, with a melting point of about 1750°C, can be melted to a 
mobile liquid in zirconia crucibles, and it is claimed that the boiling 
point of pure iron has been determined in similar crucibles. 

Chemically, zirconia is very inert, being highly resistant to acids, 
fused alkalies, fused quartz, or molten glass. Possibly no other material 
known to chemists possesses such a combination of desirable refractory 
properties. Its one undesirable characteristic is its tendency under 
certain conditions at high temperatures, in the presence of nitrogen or 
carbon, to become converted into nitride or carbide. 

An instructive paper entitled " Zirconia as a Refractory/' by E. H. 
14 209 



210 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Rodd, was published in the Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry, 
June 15, 1918. 

Zirconium oxide as an opacifier has been thoroughly investigated by 
Hartman 1 and by Grunwald 2 with promising results; and a number of 
foreign patents have been granted on the use of the oxide in white ceramic 
enamels. Zirconia seems to be especially suitable for the manufacture 
of refractory bricks, or it can be applied as a lining or surfacing to other 
less desirable refractories. Continental practice along this line is said 
to have been much more highly developed than practice in this country, 
one example quoted being actual practice tests of a Martin Siemens 
furnace with a zirconia-lined hearth. After four months of continuous 
operation at high temperatures the hearth was still in good condition and 
gave promise of lasting at least an equal length of time without renewal. 
Statistics compiled from these tests showed a saving of about 50 per cent, 
in actual maintenance costs in favor of zirconia over the other refractories 
ordinarily used for such purposes. Bradford 3 quoted Podszus 4 as claim- 
ing to have made a furnace with the pure oxide which had first been fused 
in an arc furnace and then ground; and in which temperatures of 2400° 
to 2500°C. were obtained by firing with gas and oxygen. 

The most important question regarding zirconium at the present 
time has to do with the remarkable properties that some of its advocates 
claim it imparts to steel. That the Germans have. had this use in mind 
for some time is evidenced by the numerous patents they have obtained 
covering the use of zirconium and its alloys. 

Zirconium has been obtained in the amorphous and the graphitic 
state; and Wedekind has produced a metal of 99.8 per cent, purity re- 
sembling white cast iron in appearance, with a hardness of 7.8 (Mohs) ; 
specific gravity 6.40; specific heat, 0.0804; heat of combination, 1958 
calories; and melting point, 1530°C. 

Numerous alloys of zirconium have been made and a number of 
foreign and domestic patents have been issued covering various alloys, 
both ferrous and non-ferrous. It is stated that ferrozirconium is finding 
a limited application in the steel industry as a scavenger for removing 
nitrogen and oxides. An English patent, No. 29,376, covers the use of 
zirconium as a scavenger, the alloy containing 20 per cent, of the element 
and being used in an amount equal to about 1 per cent, of the weight of 
steel treated. 

Another alloy containing 40 to 90 per cent, zirconium, the rest being 
mainly iron, is said to be free from metalloids and oxides, and malleable 
and ductile. Alloys covered by United States Patent No. 1,151,160 are 

1 Hartman, Augustus, Zirconemail: Dissertations Arbeit: Techn. Hochschule, 
Munich, 1910. 

2 Ueber Zirkonoxyd in der Emailindustrie : Sprechsaal, No. 5, 1911. 

3 Bradford, Leopold, Birmingham Metallurgical Society (British). 

4 Podszus, Zeitsch. angew. Chem., Jahrg. 30, 1917, 1, pp. 17-19. 



ZIRCONIUM 211 

claimed to be highly resistant to oxidation and chemical reagents. They 
have a metallic lustre and take a high polish, are readily malleable and 
ductile, and it is suggested that they may find an important application 
in filaments for electric lamps, as they are said to have the property of 
selective radiation. A typical analysis of some of the alloys claimed to 
have been produced under this patent shows Zr. 0.65 per cent., Fe 26 
per cent., Ti 0.12 per cent, and Al 7.7 per cent. 

A widely circulated statement to the effect that zirconium has been 
used in Germany in the production of steel for armor plates and armor- 
piercing projectiles has not been substantiated, so far as the writer 
knows, by any records of analyses. 

The use of zirconium for alloying in steel is so new that, pending def- 
inite determination by disinterested competent authorities of the exact 
properties, if any, which zirconium imparts to steel, judgment as to its 
value for this purpose should be withheld. 

Zirconium carbide has been patented for filaments for incandescent 
electric lamps and it has also been used as an abrasive. Tried as a pig- 
ment, zirconia has been found to have good covering power and should 
be considered where protection from acids, alkalies, or gases is particularly 
desired. The basic acetate has been used for weighting silk, and the 
pure oxide is used as a substitute for bismuth subnitrate in X-ray work. 

GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

Zirconium occurs in nature in commercial quantities as a mixed oxide 
and silicate known as baddeleyite, sometimes called brazilite, and as the 
silicate, zircon. Baddeleyite, as supplied to the trade, usually carries 80 
to 85 per cent. Zr02. The silicate, zircon, carries about 65 per cent. 
Zr0 2 . The oxide deposits, containing as they do a higher percentage of 
zirconium and the ore being more pure and easier to reduce, will in all 
probability become the principal source of zirconium. 

The principal known deposits of zirconium ores are in Brazil, India 
and the United States, the countries being named in the relative order of 
their commercial importance. 

The Natural Oxide. — The natural oxide, baddeleyite, or brazilite, 
occurs only in Brazil in commercial quantities and is described in Min- 
eral Foote-Notes by Meyer, 1 who writes as follows: 

There are but few commercial deposits of the unusual ores which present more 
interesting geologic as well as economic features than do the deposits of natural 
zirconium oxide in Brazil. The Caldas region (visited in 1915 by the writer) in 
which these zirconia deposits occur, is situated partly in the State of Minas 
Geraes and partly in the State of Sao Paulo, approximately 130 miles north of the 
city of Sao Paulo. It is a mountainous plateau, the main elevation of which 
is about 3,600 feet. The surface is undulating, presenting differences in level 
of from 300 to 600 feet. 

1 Meyer, H. C, Mineral Foote-Notes, November, 1916, p. 29, 



212 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

The whole area is bounded on all sides by ridges rising abruptly from 600 to 
1,200 feet above the general level and forming a roughly elliptical enclosure with 
a major axis of approximately 20 miles in length and a minor axis of 15 miles. 
This peculiar arrangement of the higher ridges is very significant when coupled 
with the fact that the predominant rock of the plateau is a phonolite and the 
presence of highly mineralized thermal water of considerable medicinal value. 1 
No thorough geological survey has been made of this area with a view to deter- 
mining the origin of the zirconia. The character of the ore, however, and the 
formation, seems to point to pneumatolitic agencies. A careful study of the 
relationship of the large masses of coarsely crystalline nephelite-syenite in this 
area, with pronounced segregations of eudialyte, might throw some light upon 
this subject. 

Zirconia ore can be roughly divided into two classes: 

First, alluvial pebbles ranging in size from one-half inch to three inches 
in diameter, generally carrying about 90 per cent, to 93 per cent, zirconium 
oxide. These pebbles, known as favas and having a specific gravity ranging 
from 4.8 to 5.2, are found along small stream beds and on the talus slopes of low 
ridges. 

Second, zirconia ore proper, or zirkite (a trade name), which ranges in shade 
from a light gray to a blue black, the lighter colored material carrying a higher 
percentage of zirconium silicate, as evidenced by analyses, which in some cases 
show a minimum of 73 per cent, zirconium oxide. The blue-black ore generally 
carries from 80 per cent, to 85 per cent, zirconium oxide. By careful sorting, how- 
ever, a uniform grade carrying about 80 per cent, is produced. 

Prior to the investigations of Derby and Lee, this ore was considered identical 
with baddeleyite. It has now been shown, however, that it is a mechanical 
mixture of three minerals; namely, brazilite, zircon, and a new and unnamed 
zirconium silicate carrying about 75 per cent, zirconium oxide. This new mineral 
has the same crystal form as zircon (67 per cent. Zr0 2 ) but is readily soluble in 
hydrofluoric acid, while zircon is not affected, this being a characteristic differ- 
ential test. The finely powdered mineral, on being treated with a weak solution 
of hydrofluoric acid, leaves a residue of minute, perfect, pyramidal crystals of 
zircon, the brazilite and new zirconium silicate going into solution. Several 
large outcrops of the ore occur on the extreme westerly edge of the plateau, 
one or two isolated boulders weighing as much as thirty tons. This very cursory 
examination of the zirconia deposits makes it unsafe to venture any conjecture 
as to the quantity of ore available. Suffice it to say, however, that the deposits 
have been traced for a distance of fifteen miles between Gascata and Caldas, and 
if surface indications are of any significance, are of vast extent. 

The oxides have also been found in the State of Montana, and in 
Ceylon, Sweden, and Italy, but none of these occurrences are of commercial 
importance. 

The Silicate. — The simple silicate, zircon, is found in seashore and 
river concentrations of monazite sands, associated with ilmenite, garnet, 
rutile, and various other heavy minerals usually found in such places. 

1 Derby, O. A., " Nepheline-rock in Brazil:" Quart. Jour.Geol. Soc, August, 1887. 



ZIRCONIUM 213 

An important concentration of zircon occurs along the coast of Brazil, 
in the states of Bahia, Espirito Santo, and Rio de Janeiro, where cusps 
of the beaches are protected on the north by granite headlands and 
bordered by Tertiary bluffs, which are cut by various streams and lagoons 
that constantly furnish fresh material for the concentrating action of the 
tides and waves. 

Probably the next most important occurrence of zircon is in India, 
in the beach sands of the province or state of Travancore at the extreme 
southwestern end of the Hindustan peninsula. 

Next in importance is an occurrence in the United States at Pablo 
Beach, Florida, where not only the beach sands, but the dunes bordering 
them, contain appreciable quantities of the following minerals in their 
relative order of abundance: ilmenite, garnet, epidote, zircon, rutile, 
and other heavy minerals including monazite. 1 

Other occurrences in this country, most of which are of academic 
interest only, are in Colorado, at St. Peter's Dome, near Pike's Peak; in 
Idaho, in the Clearwater region and elsewhere in black sands and in cer- 
tain granitic rocks; in Sussex County, New Jersey, at the Williams mine, 
where zircon occurs abundantly in magnetite; in New York at Lyon 
Mountain, Clinton County; at a few places near Crown Point; abun- 
dantly in pegmatite at Old Red Mines, Mineville, Essex County, and 
in numerous places in Orange County on the south, and St Lawrence 
County on the north. In North Carolina, in Burke, McDowell, and 
Rutherford counties, zircon occurs in monazite sands, and also in Hen- 
derson County near Zirconia and in Fredell County near Sterling. 

Large crystals of zircon occur in a small pegmatite area in Comanche 
County, Oklahoma, in the sourthwestern portion of the Wichita National 
Forest. Oregon has many localities in which the presence of zircon has 
been noted, chiefly in black sands, old and present beaches, placer gravels, 
etc., and the same is true of Washington. In Virginia, zircon is found in 
pegmatite in Aurelia County, and in sandstone near Ashland, not far 
from Richmond. 

Zircon is also found in Norway, the Ural Mountains, Ceylon, Aus- 
tralia, and British South Africa. 

POLITICAL CONTROL 

The important zirconium resources of the world are controlled politi- 
cally, in the order of their commercial importance, by Brazil, Great 
Britain, and the United States. 

Brazil. — A number of years ago John Gordon, an American mining 
engineer, became interested in deposits of monazite sand on the coast 
of Brazil in the vicinity of Prado, Bahia. A thorough investigation 
of all the known monazite deposits of the world showed that those 

1 Hess, Frank L. ? Letter of May 1, 1918. 



214 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

in Brazil were by far the most desirable, and that those in Travancore, 
India, were second in commercial importance. 1 

Other firms exporting zirconium minerals from Brazil, in addition to 
Gordon & Rogers, of 141 Broadway, New York, are Suffern & Co., 
of 135 Broadway, New York; S. R. Scott & Co., 39 Broadway, New 
York; Foote & Co., Philadelphia, Pa.; P. S. Nicholson & Co., Caixa 91, 
Rio de Janeiro; E. J. La vino & Co., Bullitt Building, Philadelphia, Pa.; 
Luiz de Rezende & Co., Rua Ouidor, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and 
Chas. Spitz, also of Rio de Janeiro, who is agent for the Soci£te Miniere, 
a French company in which Rezende & Co. are said to have a con- 
siderable interest. Sometime ago the firm of A. C. de Freitas & Co. 
of Hamburg, Germany, had a contract from the Brazilian government 
on monazite sands and agreed to export at least 1,200 tons annually. 
How much zircon that company exported is not known. The de Freitas 
properties are now being worked by the Societe Miniere (French). 2 

Until very recently, zirconium has been of minor interest in this coun- 
try, the monazite sands having been exploited for their thorium contents 
only, not for zirconium. However, Germany and Austria seem to have 
placed considerable value upon zirconium-bearing sands, and, as shown 
by the attached table, more was produced in 1913 than in all the time 
prior, and practically all the material produced during that year went to 
Germany. This is in accord with the efforts of Germany, just before 
the war, to obtain tungsten and molybdenum, and is an evidence of prepa- 
rations long before hostilities began. 

India. — Before the war, the German users of monazite were in control 
of the Travancore, India, deposits. That control of course ceased and 
the contracts were x cancelled. The India Office decided that, in the 
future, all directors of the company must be British born, and that the 
company must be ready at all times to sell monazite sand to British 
firms, direct, at a fair] price. 

United States. — It is hardly probable that the deposits in the United 
States will be able to compete, on a commercial basis, with the Brazilian 
ores; but, if the necessity should arise, this country can produce, within 
its own borders, enough zirconium to manufacture many thousand tons 
of zirconium steel. The cordial commercial relations between the 
United States and Brazil will probably protect this country from any 
undue restraint on exports from South America. 

General. — All of the large countries interested have facilities for mak- 
ing the ferro-alloy. Numerous alloys of zirconium have been made, and 
a number of patents, both foreign and domestic, have been issued covering 
various alloys, both ferrous and non-ferrous. No secret processes, as 
such, are known to the writer. 

1 See Chapter XIII. 

2 Production figures 1902-1916 for the United States and Brazil are given in 
Table 34. 



ZIRCONIUM 



215 



Table 34. — Production of Zirconium Minerals in the United States and 






Brazil, 1902-1916 1 






United States 


Brazil 


Year 


Quantity 
(short tons) 


Value 


Quantity 
(short tons) 


Value 


1902 






12 


$3,947 
1,947 


1903 


"m 


$ 570 


7 


1904 


y* 


200 


9 


3,935 


1905 


4 


1600 


18 


5,506 


1906 


H 


248 


26 


5,041 


1907 




46 


38 


8,756 


1908 








275 


15,151 


1909 


l 


250 


117 


11,838 


1910 








128 


23,271 


1911 


iH 


802 


45 


16,169 


1912 








43 


14,772 


1913 








1,119 


54,767 


1914 








237 


14,903 


1915 








8 


2,915 


1916 








104 


16,647 



1 Adapted from Mineral Resources, U. S., 1916, Part II, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1917, 
pp. 377-386. 

SUMMARY 

The principal use for zirconium ores at present is determined by the 
refractory properties of the oxide, zirconia. Refractory bricks and 
shapes for furnace linings, chemical ware, and other heat, acid, and alkali 
resisting articles are made of zirconia, and are finding a limited market. 

The recent interest in zirconium is due to the remarkable properties 
which it is said to impart to steel. Its real worth, or function, in that 
direction is yet to be definitely determined, and tests conducted by the 
Bureau of Mines, Bureau of Standards and others are being made to 
ascertain the facts. 

The best and most available source of supply at present is Brazil, where 
the natural oxide, baddeleyite, occurs in considerable quantities in the 
states of Minas Geraes and Sao Paulo. The deposits have not been 
explored sufficiently to make any reliable estimate of tonnage possible, 
but, judged from their surface showing, they are of vast extent. The sili- 
cate, zircon, is found in Brazil, India and in the United States in commer- 
cial quantities. 

The important deposits of zirconium minerals are controlled by 
Brazil, Great Britain and the United States, but the actual ownership 
of many of the deposits is unknown. This is particularly true of the 
oxide ores. 



CHAPTER XIII 
MONAZITE, THORIUM, AND MESOTHORIUM 

By R. B. Moore 
USES OF MONAZITE 

Practically the only use of monazite has been as a source of thorium 
salts. In extracting these, by-products are recovered, such as cerium, 
lanthanum, and other rare earths. Thorium salts are used almost 
exclusively for the manufacture of Welsbach mantles, which consist of 
99 per cent, thorium oxide and 1 per cent, cerium oxide. For this 
use there is no known substitute. The one other use of thorium salts is 
in ordinary chemical laboratories, but this use is very limited. The 
fluoride and other salts of cerium are used in connection with the flam- 
ing arc, their presence giving increased luminosity. 

Mesothorium is a radio-active element always found in thorium 
minerals. Until quite recently it has been thrown away in the manu- 
facture of thorium nitrate ; but it is now being produced as a by-product, 
and is useful as a substitute for radium in luminous paints, and for thera- 
peutic purposes. 

GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The principal sources of monazite are Brazil and India, although it 
has been mined successfully in the United States in the Carolinas and in 
Idaho. It has been found in Swaziland, Africa, and in Australia, and 
also, to a limited extent, in native rock and in placers in Ekaterinburg, 
Russia. 

Monazite is usually found in the gravels of small streams or bottom 
lands, although it is sometimes found in the soil of hillsides. In Brazil 
and India it occurs mainly in the beach sands of the sea coast. In places 
it is found in small crystals in gneiss, granite and pegmatite rocks. As 
these rocks become disintegrated, the crystals are washed into streams 
and with other heavy sands are deposited in the stream beds. On the 
coast of Brazil, the monazite grains from the crystalline rocks of the 
coastal mountains are concentrated by the waves of the sea. 

United States. — The deposits of the Carolinas cover an area of several 
hundred square miles east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In North 

216 



MONAZITE, THORIUM, AND MESOTHORIUM 217 

Carolina, the counties of Cleveland, Burke, Alexander, Rutherford and 
Lincoln furnish the richest deposits. In South Carolina the only deposits 
of value are in the counties of Cherokee and Greenville. Practically 
all of the monazite mined in the Carolinas is derived from gravels in 
streams and bottom lands, the miners usually following the stream 
courses. The gravels vary greatly in thickness, and it is therefore diffi- 
cult to make a true estimate of the average, but in general the monazite- 
bearing gravels are between 1}^ and 2J^ feet thick. The top soil in the 
bottom lands averages 3 to 6 feet thick and may be 7 feet or more. 

The deposits in the State of Idaho are near Centerville and Idaho 
City. In the future, under more favorable conditions of price, transpor- 
tation, etc., these deposits may possibly become a commercial source of 
monazite. Almost all of them contain small quantities of gold. The 
gravel beds are considerably thicker than those in the Carolinas, and with 
the gold content might be more profitable were it not for labor being 
higher priced. 

Monazite has been found in Colorado, in the Newland Gulch district, 
20 miles south of Denver, where it occurs in gravels that carry consid- 
erable gold. 

Brazil. — There are three kinds of monazite sand deposits in Brazil; 
the deposits within the government lands along the coast; deposits ly- 
ing behind the government coastal lands, which are private state posses- 
sions or belong to private parties; and inland deposits. The bulk of the 
monazite is derived from coast sands in the states of Espirito Santo and 
Bahia, the sand being washed by means of oscillating tables or sluice 
boxes. The coast lands are the property of the federal government for 
33 meters inland, measuring from the point where the sea waves wash the 
beach at mean high tide. This uncertain method of marking prop- 
erty has of course given rise to disputes when boundaries are established. 

At a few places along the coast strips of monazite-bearing sands he 
directly behind the government land, and some of these might be worked 
profitably were it not for the fact that it has been difficult to prove to 
the federal government that these sands were not taken from the near- 
by government land. One French concern has exploited such lands in 
the State of Rio de Janeiro. Along the banks of the large rivers, such as 
Parahyba, there are great quantities of black sands* with traces of 
monazite. Near Sapucaia such deposits have been worked by a French 
concern. Many of the inland deposits can not be exploited on account 
of the expense of transportation of the products, as the deposits are 
many miles from a railroad. 

India. — India is the newest source of monazite sands, the deposits 
lying on the sea beach like those in Brazil. The deposits are in the Trav- 
ancore district near the southwestern end of the Hindustan peninsula. 
Very little information is available concerning these deposits. 



218 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

CHANGES IN TREATMENT PRACTICE 

The general method of treatment employed until quite recently has 
involved leaching the concentrate with concentrated sulphuric acid, thus 
getting the thorium, cerium, and other rare earths in solution and separat- 
ing them from the silica, zircon, ilmenite and other insoluble products. 
From this stage different companies used slight variations in practice, 
such variations being kept strictly secret, although they all involved the 
precipitation of the thorium as oxalate by means of oxalic acid. 

At the outbreak of the war the price of sulphuric acid went to four 
or five times the original cost, and the increased price of oxalic acid was 
practically prohibitive. Consequently the manufacturing companies 
had to change their entire procedure and to use chemicals that they 
could obtain at a reasonable price. In this difficult undertaking the 
companies were successful, and at least one company devised a process 
that was considerably more efficient than the old one. 

At present mesothorium is being produced as a by-product by the 
Lindsay Light Co. and the Welsbach Co., the process used by the latter 
company having been originated by the Colorado Station of the United 
States Bureau of Mines. This process is cheap and extremely efficient, 
and will no doubt enable the Welsbach Co. to compete commercially 
with any other manufacturer of mesothorium. Of course as the process 
was developed by the Bureau of Mines it will ultimately be made avail- 
able for anyone, but as mesothorium can only be made at a profit as a 
by-product of thorium nitrate, anyone who manufacturers mesothorium 
must first establish a thorium industry. 

POLITICAL CONTROL 

The important monazite resources of the world are controlled po- 
litically by three nations: the United States, Great Britain (India) and 
Brazil. The deposits of the United States, in normal times, probably 
can not be worked successfully in competition with the foreign deposits 
without the protection of a high tariff. 

COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

United States. — The widely scattered monazite deposits of the United 
States are of importance only during a period of abnormally high prices 
or during the restriction of imports from Brazil and India. The known 
reserves are small and the deposits will probably never be an important 
factor in the world monazite market. As far as the writer knows, 
all of the American deposits are controlled by American capital. 

The manufacture of thorium nitrate in this country is closely con- 
trolled by two large companies, the Welsbach Co. and the Lindsay Light 



MONAZITE, THORIUM, AND MESOTHORIUM 219 

Co. ; they own the only, two commercial plants of any size in the United 
States. 

All of the manufacturers of mantles in the United States, with one 
exception, must obtain their thorium nitrate from one of these two com- 
panies. As these companies supply practically all the thorium nitrate 
requirements of England and France, they control the thorium industry. 
The only other manufacturer of thorium nitrate in this country is the Block 
Co., of Chicago, which uses about 15 tons of monazite a year, making suffi- 
cient thorium nitrate for its own production of mantles. The Welsbach 
Co. uses about 1,200 tons of monazite annually and the Lindsay Light 
Co. about half that amount. The Welsbach Co. has contracts for the 
delivery of monazite, up to its requirements, from Brazil; the Lindsay 
Light Co. has obtained all of its monazite from India. 

Most of the processes used, including those used by the Welsbach 
Co. and the Lindsay Light Co., are secret. As thorium can be ex- 
tracted from monazite in more ways than one, a secret process does 
not necessarily mean commercial control unless such a process is in 
every way efficient and the company owning it is willing to get into a 
commercial war. 

Brazil. — As the Brazilian deposits have for so many years been the 
chief source of the supply of monazite, the history of their commercial 
control is practically a history of the commercial control of the monazite 
industry. About 27 years ago, John Gordon, an American now residing 
in New York, found monazite on the coast of Brazil. He brought large 
quantities to Hamburg, Germany, and was able to obtain a monoply of 
the monazite sand. 

At that time the manufacture of thorium nitrate, the principal product 
of the monazite sand, was confined in Europe to a few large chemical 
firms in Germany and the Welsbach Co. in Vienna. They not only 
supplied the European market with thorium nitrate, but also sent large 
quantities to the United States. The American Welsbach Co. early 
manufactured thorium nitrates from sands mined in the Carolinas, a 
protective duty of 6 per cent, making this possible. 

In 1902 Mr. Gordon agreed to supply the four large German manufac- 
turers and the Austrian manufacturers with monazite at a price of $150 
a ton and a profit on the manufactured nitrates. A close combination 
thus formed, known as the German Thorium Convention, prevented 
other thorium manufacturers from acquiring any of the mineral mined by 
Mr. Gordon, and raised the price of thorium nitrate 100 per cent. 

For a considerable period Mr. Gordon exported the sand from the 
coast lands of Bahia, near Prado, Brazil, without interference. Finally 
the Brazilian government became acquainted with the value of the 
resources and decided that no private individual or state government had 
the right to mine, sell, lease, or remove any monazite on so-called state 



220 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

lands without the consent of the federal authorities. In 1908 the gov- 
ernment advertised that coast lands in the State of Espirito Santo would 
be leased to the highest bidder for the exploitation of the sands. A con- 
tract was thus obtained for the firm of A. C. de Freitas .& Co., of Ham- 
burg, Germany. By the contract the firm agreed to pay to the Brazilian 
government a rental equal to 50 per cent, of the selling price of the mona- 
zite sands and to export at least 1,200 tons annually. 

To avoid trouble the German Thorium Convention arranged later 
that half of its supply should be furnished by Mr. Gordon and half by the 
de Freitas company. A new convention was formed by the four Ger- 
man chemical manufacturers with Mr. Gordon and the de Freitas com- 
pany, preventing firms in other countries that had started to manufacture 
thorium nitrate from getting raw material. Consequently great efforts 
were made to find and develop new deposits of monazite. The high 
price for thorium nitrate made possible the mining of monazite in the 
Carolinas and its export to Germany, especially to one German manufac- 
turer who was not in the German Thorium Convention. 

Ultimately there was an overproduction of thorium and in 1906 the 
price dropped 50 per cent. Monazite mining declined in all localities 
where the cost of mining was high, and production in the Carolinas and 
the interior of Brazil practically stopped. 

During the four or five years antedating the war the German Incan- 
descent Gas Light Co., of Berlin, succeeded in controlling the largest 
manufacturers of thorium nitrate in Europe, except those in France. It 
controlled both the English and Australian companies and became the 
active competitor of the so-called Thorium Convention, which at that 
time had lost much of its power. Mr. Gordon still has extensive interests 
in Brazil, but he does not have a monoply. The exportation rights from 
Brazil are in the hands of Luis de Rezende & Co. (Rio de Janiero), Mr. 
Gordon, and others. Luis de Rezende & Co. is mainly a French concern, 
but has Brazilian and Portuguese stockholders. The company controls 
the French company, Societe Miniere, associated with the Welsbach Co. 

As noted above, one French company has exploited monazite deposits 
in the territory immediately behind the government lands in the State 
of Rio de Janeiro. Another French company has worked the black sands 
along the Parahyba River, near Sapucaica, which contain traces of 
monazite. 

India. — Before the war, the German manufacturers of thorium ni- 
trate exercised as close control over the monazite deposits of Travancore, 
India, as over those of Brazil. Only a limited quantity of the sand was 
sold to gas-mantle manufacturers and other consumers in the United 
Kingdom, and then at a price nine times the price paid by the German 
consumers. Such a monoply of the supplies of raw material made the 
German monoply of the thorium nitrate industry almost complete. 



MONAZITE, THORIUM, AND MESOTHORIUM 221 

According to S. J. Johnstone, in an address at the annual meeting of 
the Society of Chemical Industry in July, 1916, the Germans obtained 
practical control of the Travancore monazite deposits in the following 
manner: A lease for working these deposits was granted some years 
ago by the Travancore Durbar, with the approval of the Government 
of India, to the London Cosmopolitan Tin Mining Co., which contracted 
to sell the whole of its output to a German firm. Soon after the outbreak 
of war it was found that the whole of the preference shares and 11,000 of 
the ordinary shares of the Travancore Minerals Co. were held in trust for 
the Auer company, of Berlin. 

The India Office decided that in the future all directors of the com- 
pany working the concession must be British-born and that the company, 
must be ready at all times to sell monazite sand direct, and at a fair price, 
to British firms. German contracts were canceled. A second company, 
Thorium, Ltd., obtained a 20-year lease to work 150 acres in Travancore 
for monazite sand, and is exporting the sand and manufacturing thorium 
nitrate from it at works in England. A great deal of Travancore mona- 
zite has been imported by American companies. 

POSITION OF THE UNITED STATES 

As outlined above, it can be readily seen that the United States is 
dependent upon Brazil and India for its raw materials, as domestic 
deposits are not large enough to furnish the required supply and cannot 
be worked in competition with the more cheaply mined foreign deposits. 

The average concentrate obtained in the Carolinas runs about 3J-^ 
to 4 per cent, thorium oxide; that obtained in Brazil averages somewhat 
over 8 per cent. Under such conditions it is difficult for the Carolina 
monazite to compete with that from Brazil or from India. In addition, 
a very considerable amount of the Carolina monazite available has been 
removed. The old workings are more or less covered up and the whole 
industry has become completely disorganized. 

Whilst these deposits were being mined and operated farmers were in 
the habit of making their own concentrate in crude sluice boxes. The 
product thus obtained averaged about 35 per cent, monazite. The con- 
centrates were then sold to a refinery, where it was best treated by electro- 
magnetic separators, such as the Wetherill machine. The final product 
obtained from these machines was ready for chemical treatment for the 
extraction of the thorium. 

Practically the same treatment is given to the monazite from Brazil 
and India. As the concentrate obtained is of much higher grade, the 
additional charges for freight and duty, which are not borne by the 
Carolinas product, are more than offset. Undoubtedly, unless a very 
high tariff is placed on the monazite from Brazil and India, our future 



222 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

supplies will come from these two sources, at least for some time. It is 
very doubtful whether with a high tariff the Carolina deposits could 
furnish the monazite required in this country, even for a few years, and 
under the most favorable conditions it would take some time, possibly 
six months to a year, to revive the industry. 

The Allies and practically the whole world are dependent upon the 
United States for the manufactured products, thorium nitrate and gas 
mantles. Whether this monoply will continue is doubtful, as there is a 
movement in England to encourage both the thorium nitrate and the 
gas-mantle industry. 



CHAPTER XIV 
COPPER 

By F. W. Paine 
INTRODUCTION 

One country stands pre-eminent as the world's great producer of cop- 
per, and that is the United States, whose production was 60 per cent, of 
the total world output in 1917. Iron, coal, oil and copper are funda- 
mental raw materials of which the United States produces more than 
any other country, but only in copper and in oil is the output greater 
than that of all other countries together. In copper this has been true 
since the early nineties. American copper, English gold, Russian 
platinum and Chilean nitrate are common phrases in world markets; 
as common as the commodities themselves. 

No other country produces or has for many years ever produced one- 
sixth as much copper as the United States. While the world output of 
copper has been increasing, at the average rate of 5 per cent, annually 
for 10 years up to 1914 and three times as rapidly since then, the relative 
importance of the United States has not declined. On the contrary it 
has increased at a greater rate than the total world output. Certain 
individual countries, it is true, have since 1914 increased their output 
faster than the United States, but there is no indication that the United 
States will lose its present dominating leadership. 

Because of the magnitude of the copper industry of the United States, 
great refining plants have been built up here. American capital also 
has gone largely into Canadian, Mexican and South American copper 
properties. As a result the United States now imports nearly one-third 
as much copper as is produced (18 per cent, of the total world output in 
1917). Thus American capital controls, through refining in addition to 
ownership of mines, 78 per cent, of the world's copper production. This 
control should also be equally strong as regards selling. Obviously, a 
large part of. our domestic, and, as regards statistics, all the imported 
copper, is exported in finished form — copper ingots and bars, brass, 
electrical machinery, etc. But as regards selling and even mine owner- 
ship in Mexico and South America, there is considerable German control; 
although the important mines of Canada, Mexico and South America 
are owned by either American, British or French interests, except those 
owned by local foreign capital. 

223 



224 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



3 

2 

o 

W 

G5 
O 



'1 

u 3 C 
■O.S 

41 

a 
is 
O 




c 

g 

oc 


1 






c 
c 

K 








c 

8 

Ol 


' 




o 


8 

"2 


>> 13 
e3 "S 

So 

o o 
o o 


o 
o 

to 

CO 


2.0%, divided as fol- 
lows: Cuba, 0.5; Spain, 
0.1; Norway, 0.6; Swe- 
den, 0.05; Chile, 0.5; 
China, 0.05; Italy, 0.2. 


>> 

(1) A 
a> » ft 

« ftos 










o 

8 

lO* 
Ol 










o 
o 

q 

lO* 
Ol 




>> 

O) 01 ft 
fl'- c3 
"►fc o 

o 


o 
o 

co 


8 8 

iO o 
of co* 


8 

o 
of 

Ol 










o 
o 
q 
of 


8 q 

CO "^ 


>> 

<» t/ft 

fl a> c3 
fctO w 

o 


1 3 § 

88 8 
of of ^r 




o 
o 
q 
of 






o o 

o o 
o o 

00* rH* 








o 
o 
o 

00* 
O 


d 


>> 

"S'-" 3 -a 

o 


88 

© © » 

of o* 2 


o o 

2 ° 
o »o 

of of 




o do 

o o o 

lO ^ ^ 

co* oo* co* 

CO »0 rjf 


o 

o 
o 
o* 


. O . io 

:8 : M 

• o" • 


ti 1 co 

of CO 

"1 


>> 

<u • ft 

o 


o o o 
o o o 
© © o 
of oo" of 

<S N •* 
00 


. o o o 

• o o o 

• © © ©_ 
■ co ic co 

; oo ^ 


o 
o 

q 

CO* 
rH 




















O 

o 
q 

co" 


OS 

co 


O 03 

2 ° 


ii5tCO<OHOOOO«l 

t>-° co rji id © d oi d 


Ol 

COt^t^COi-H ■* <M ,-i ■<*< 
CO .... 

J> M N N N H *HOO 


00 

CO 
OJ 


o 
o 


Estimated 

capacity 

output of 

copper 


oooooooo 
oooooooo 
oooooooo 
00* 00 w d N ©" ic of 

N UJ » H .-1 -^ l-H 
05 tH 


8 ooooo oooo 

O OOOOO OOOiO 

- q q q q q q q q oj^ 
co oo* co" "f of oo" i-* of t-H © 

(M lO ■<*< Ol tJ< i-H b-tH 

1-* rH 


o 

HO 
O). 

co" 

00 

CO 


o 

Ol 

co" 
q 


03 O 

£0 


-a 

C 

0. 

■4- 

'I 


S v2 3 g a S "3 


S <u r- 1 

a? £. c3 ^ 

W J a *S 

P. 3*2 
2 .g fa 2 &} ~ .2 

I.* .a IliL § 
*1* § B a .9 -i -g -g ii* 

+» £* °« *C "= Q.03 2 S^/fa ^ -0 


1 

a 
w 

u 

<D 

m 

$ ft 

o « 




Average 

1916-1917 

output of 

copper 


coooooooooo 

©COt^OOOOlO 

ffl h ^ o o q <o q 
oo* of of "** of © co* co* 

CO t*i Tji i-< l> r* 

00 


o ©ooooo ooo 

CO OiOOOOO OOlO 

»-i io w o o io o qooj 
co" bTco*ofofoo"rH ofr-fd 

O '*C0'-lT**»-<t> T-t 


o 
o 
t> 

r)T 

»o 

CO 


OJ 
CO 

00 

co" 

id 


8) S 

c3 ^ 

c S 

I* 


CM 


CO ^ O N 00 "* 




rj< N lO Oi O) CO M tJ<^-i^ 
U5 C0Olt^O|r-I-<jI HOO 


CO 
Ol 


"3 
t & 

2 2 

"2 

o 


CO CO H 


o ■**< 


CO C 



COPPER 



225 



"O" _ 










































■-5 ti 








s § 

E C(C 

v C m 

JOJ3 


o o o o 2 
o o o o o 
© © io o q 

CO* rH* (M* O © 

b- M iH N 






8^ 8 § 

iC^ o o 

2 °° *°" 3 *" *" ** ** 


O /-> ^ 

8 ^^ 


b >> 








■ o^a 








ft 












4 ^^ 




a 












^ T3 












>> s 




■ S^M 












53 OJ 












r3 fi 




T3 «-g 










o 
o 

o 


° « ft s 

©.ftp 

O CO g o 

S Sod 








o 
o 
o 

00* 




so 


O 

g ^ oo 

(N* '- 1 ^ 


P3 o 










»o 


Is 












co i _^ 




c 














o 






o 


o 


ll 




















o 

o_ 


§ o q 


f* 




















im" 


INNN 




















<N '.'.'.'.'.' 


(N 


« 
























a. 

73 « 






8 


o c 
o c 


; 8oo 






o 
o 








O 

o 


o 

g TH « 








q 


«o c 


J "i^ 






q 








q 


1> (N 


c3>" 






cd 


O* «£ 


> oo 






"f 








CM 




©Ph 






1—1 




<N 


















« 










































; o 












o 








o ■"* "* 


^3 o5 


























o 








o _z 


as 


























q 








«■"*■<* 




























t^ 








t>. 


So 








































^ 














: S 










■ -s^s 




§ 




o 


: o .2 o o 


o 




ooo 


o 


-rj*£.°, 








O M o o 


o 




O O iQ 


e5 co n 


4) '43 '3 




o 




us 


L "L <n "5 °. 9, 


q 




°- p. N 


S'S'fl 




© 




N 


<N OQ CO CO 


id 




O* T-H* 


d °» i 


Q)M-1 o 




CO 






CO ~J «5 ^ 


CO 






iO iH 
1— 1 


« 










(-1 

3 


















a . 


oooooooc 
oooooooc 
oooooooc 

03 00 N O N M iO CC 


o o 


o o 












o 
o 

°.SN 
o • • 

I-H O 

o 


■ rt 0Q 


o o 


o o 












T3 . 

A* 


© © 
t)" § »o* 


o q 

Co" CN 












N N >0 H ■* ■<# 
OS 


3 














tated 
city 
of re- 
opper 


OOOOOOOC 

oooooooc 
oooqoqq© 


© _ ooo oodooo 

© ~ OOO OOOOOiO 


s °° ^ 


O £*! © © ©_ O © © © © <N 


<M ~C ^ 

- co o 


a o3^ o 


00* 00* »C* ©* <N O* id" IN 


o* in ad cd m* cm" oo" rH o" rH «d 


CO CN O 


Estii 
cap 

outpu 
fined 


<N lO O r-i r-i <# r- 


CO- iOtJ<(M tJ) H N H 


00 rH 


OS T-l 


N SO rH 


co 






oj ... 


0) 




























03 












c 


n 


















J3 . 

ft . 








3 












^5 . . 
a . • 


To 

'u 

O 


















IS 

6 : 

0> 








1-4 

o 
Ah 








S3 


OQ 

1 3 ' 


o 


§• 8 : 














w« §• : 






i-s a as 




H*3 


w^ s 


















fl +» '2 








c 


go -a 

O J, 4) 
OB 53 O 

W "H ft 

"el ° *~3 
o fe o 
H Pm H 


>> 

a 
a 
o 
D 


g * • 

ira S 

2 p 


o 

o 

'x 


03 

a 


J5 : 

"2 • 

> o 


1 


a! 

;H 

*o 

pq 


J5 | : 
"5 * is ^ 

+3 2 *» <J 
o S a ^ 


.3 " 
S ft 


S 53 « Pm 

a -. > 

rt '-5 .2 g- g 
.S to '55 -p ^ 


o 
o 
OQ 


3 

o 

p 

03 

o 




fc 
















--<£ 


Bq 





















15 



226 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



m 



H CO 

3rt 



Pm Pm 
CM < 



£0 



JS 



fl o £ o 









•^ co <t» 

s «& 



&Ph © 
o 



© C "5 

a f- a 
r © o5 



O 



>> 

i> © 

o 



Sf-fl 



S S a ft.2 
■rt ft .J? o E 



eooo HOONOO 
CN»0>-H<N 



co coo 

HON 






i-<©CNO OOOOO 



00 

ao«i 



lOOO t^oooooo 



CO CD 



oo co t» b- o 

COCNt^CN 



ooo oooo 

ooo oooo 

©.o©_ oo_oo 

O0*00"iO No"iO(N 



OOOO 

oooo 
oooo 




ra fl ©Ji CO $ 

««)t.l< COT £ 



. '©-fa 
Jb-ft fl 



bo co ft 
co © § 



co 073 
>>°fl 

■3.S* 

J&J 

"fl s - 

fl 08TJ 
O CO CO 

co ^ ,rt 

fl fl 2 

► tfl 

co o o 
^ , * ,, j3 
_2t3 © 
a o 3 

— wo 
*-'.•.'■• 

s 2 a 

^ CO S 

•fl ft 

"la 

£fl* 

e3 3 >> 

CO o * 

>>«a 

©Pfl CO 
rH^ fO 

fl r. 



^"5g 

£§co 
O § M 

a^s 

.S-S-3 

O © M 

•SS . 

co'"^ 
co "3 co 
u rt a 

all 

-fa fl co 
•C O © 

2 © & 



as 2 



© b-~ 

* fl^r 

T3 c« * 

fl 2 * 
^3 

"^ fl © 
00 t* 



US* g 



8^ 

§°.a 

03 T3 co 

to © © 

'-' © M 

© o © 

it! 

2 2® 

fl ©ft 

•rt.S > 
•§•*£ 

.A © fl 
03.O. 03 



fl © o 

•ft ftH 

°"*2 

-fa CO © 

fl^ 
fl © o 

CO CO 

^£ S. 



Cfl^ 

•fl fl 

Mo 



-f^ fl 
G O . 



£K 



S a m§ 



2'c* 
fl-«ja 

T3-fl"i» 

O -f- 1 

a 08 ° 

OB'S • 

■*a ^\<C 
2 ""^ 

© c® 

<fl o _ 



J2 CO © C" 

© © caC3 Tl-gl? 

^.S«^§tSft 

S -2--s1 

Sjs'S - § o 

'• 5 08 5"® * ©-f 3 O'S * 
"OO-f" .h o o 



ft S -*r — ft 



COPPER 



227 




228 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Table 35 shows the different copper-producing countries of the world 
and the chief features of financial control of the producing mines. Table 
36 shows the chief features of business control (refining and selling 
control) as distinct from control by mine ownership. In both tables a 
forecast for future conditions is made by using estimates of 1918 and 
1919 production. These figures are followed out to the different forms 
of control. The actual outputs of 1916-17 are given as a reference and 
check. Table 37 shows reserves, largely those of producing mines. 
Plate VIII shows the location of the principal copper deposits of the world. 

NORTH AMERICA 
UNITED STATES 

Production. — The maximum output of copper from mines within the 
borders of the United States was in 1916, and amounted to 1,927,850,548 
pounds. In 1917 the output was less, because of labor troubles, but six 
leading states showed an increase, and if Montana had equaled the 
output of 1916, the 1917 output would have been 1,962,034,512 pounds. 
Without good markets and favorable labor conditions, the United States 
production cannot reach anything like 2,000,000,000 pounds a year. 
Commercial Control 

Control Through Ownership of Mines. — All the productive bodies of 
copper in the United States are owned by Americans, except a small 
number controlled by English capital. Before the war, there was evi- 
dence of German affiliation and potential control in the copper industry, 
but this centered in refining and selling the metal. Accordingly, the 
German grip on the industry was highly centralized, and direct and 
effective measures were used in breaking it. 

Five leading groups are in control of copper production in the United 
States. Certain of these have additional important ownerships in South 
America and Mexico, which will be discussed under those countries. 

Table 38. — Leading Financial Groups in Control of Copper Production in 

United States 

Pounds 

Group 1. Hayden-Jackling "porphyries" (closely affiliated with 
group 2) Utah Copper, Ray Consolidated (Ariz.), Nevada Consolidated, 
(Nev.) Chino (N. Mex.) and Butte & Superior (Mont.); 1917 output 
(custom ore not included) 448,887,253 

Group 2. Morgan-Guggenheim (American Smelting & Refining Co). 
Kennecott (Alaska) and a large number of smaller mines owned by 
Americans which have their ore treated at plants controlled by this 
group. The 1917 output of Kennecott and eleven of the chief custom- 
ers of American Smelting & Refining plants (smaller custom shipments 
to smelters must be added) was 156,954,722 

Group 3. Rockefeller-Ryan: Anaconda, Inspiration, North Butte, 
Utah Consolidated, Mountain Copper (Cal.), Balaklala (Cal.), Walker 
mine (Cal.), and Arizona Copper Co., 1917 output (custom ore not in- 
cluded) 357,308 ; 558 



COPPER 229 

Group 4. Phelps-Dodge and affiliations: Arizona and New Mexico 
only. Copper Queen, Detroit, Burro Mountain, Commercial Mining 

Co. (Phelps-Dodge) ; 1917 output 123,000,000 

Calumet & Arizona — New Cornelia (Briggs-Congdon) ; 1917 output 79,360,000 

United Verde Extension (affiliated with each of above); total 1917 out- 
put 63,242,784 

To which must be added custom business which is important, e.g., Ariz- 
ona Commercial mine, etc.; 1917 business (other custom ore not in- 
cluded) about 10,000,000 

Total for group 4 275,603,113 

Group 5. Calumet & Hecla: 1917 output, Calumet & Hecla mine 

and subsidiaries 168,765,033 

Total 1917 output of these five leading groups 1 1,407,518,679 

Important smaller groups may be listed as follows : 

Group 6. W . A. Clark. United Verde, Elm Orlu (Mont.) and Ophir 
Hill (Utah); 1917 output 88,390,038 

Group 7. Adolph Lewisohn: Miami and, by sale of output, Shat- 
tuck-Arizona; 1917 output 57,058,666 

Group 8. U. S. Smelting, Refining & Mining Co. Custom ore and 
Mammoth mine, Cal., Utah Apex, and Tintic (Utah) mines; 1917 
output 22,600,000 

Group 9. Lake mines (other than Calumet & Hecla) : Copper Range 
Co., Mohawk, Quincy, etc. 2 ; 1917 output 99,700, 000 

There is also a group, discussed later, of uncertain or unclassifiable 
affiliations, owned by Americans, but in many instances worked under 
smelting and refining contracts that merit special mention: 

1917 output, pounds 

Old Dominion (Ariz.), (perhaps group 4) 25,758,381 

East Butte (and custom ore), (perhaps group 9) 18,000,000 

Shannon Copper Co., (Ariz.), (independent) 6,138,219 

Penn. Mining Co. (Cal.) (independent) 3,400,000 

Cons. Arizona Smelting Co. (independent) 5,000,000 

Ducktown Sulphur, Copper & Iron Co., Ltd. (Term.), (English) 5,523,573 

Total unclassifiable and uncertain 63,820,173 

Total of groups 1 to 5 1,407,518,679 

Total of groups 6 to 9 267,748,704 

Total of all interests 1,739,087,556 

Total 1917 United States copper production (from domestic mines only) 1,873,546,171 
Balance (custom ore from small shippers) 3 134,458,614 

1 Exclusive of the small mines (shippers of custom ore) partly controlled through 
smelting and refining contracts by same interests. 

2 Ten different interests. 

3 This balance includes copper produced as by-product in mining of other metals 
in Colorado and the East, estimated at 50,000,000 pounds, and custom shipments from 
1,000 small operations, chiefly to smelters controlled by groups 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6, esti- 
mated at 84,458,614 pounds. 



230 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Certain mines in the above groups are owned in England, but are 
classed with that interest which refines and sells the production. In 
group 2, for example, is listed the Tennessee Copper Co., whose copper is 
refined and sold at the American Smelting & Refining plant in Baltimore. 
In ownership, however, this property should be placed in group 7, (output 
10,547,704 pounds). 

In group 3 are two English-owned mines: Arizona Copper Co. 
(Scotch) and Mountain Copper Co., (English). Ducktown Sulphur, 
Copper & Iron in the last group (uncertain and unclassifiable) is also 
English-owned. The combined output of these three English-owned 
properties is 48,000,000 pounds. This comprises all properties not owned 
by American capital. Ducktown Sulphur, Copper & Iron Co., Ltd. is 
English-owned, but all its production (copper matte) is sold to the Ameri- 
can Metal Co. The others in the group designated above as uncertain, 
or unclassifiable, are entirely American owned, although their production 
has been marketed by the American Metal Co. or L. Vogelstein, as 
discussed later. 

None of these groups actually own the mines outright, the mines 
being owned by hosts of stockholders scattered all over the country. 
Of many companies the president and directors own a very small per- 
centage of the stock. As regards group 6 and to a less extent group 4, 
however, the actual ownership is in very few hands; but this is exception- 
al. The copper mines of the United States, like the railroads and the 
largest industrial enterprises, such as the United States Steel Corporation, 
etc., are, in the last analysis, controlled by their stockholders. 

Summarized on the basis of the 1917 output, one finds that the owner- 
ship of American copper mines is as follows: American 97 J^ per cent., 
English and Scotch, 2^ per cent. 

Control Through Ownership of Smelters and Refineries. — Ownership of 
smelters that treat domestic ore is substantially identical to the mine 
ownership given above. Interests owning active smelters are less nu- 
merous than interests owning mines, because efficient smelting requires 
large-scale operations. 

The electrolytic refineries are all American owned. Large-scale 
units, representing heavy capital investments, are essential in electro- 
lytic refining. A small refinery cannot compete successfully with large 
ones. The average important copper mine produces enough ore to make 
about 25,000,000 pounds a year, whereas the average smelter produces 
three or four times as much blister or casting copper, and the average 
electrolytic refinery can produce over 250,000,000 pounds annually. 
Consequently, there are only six groups (Hayden-Jackling, Morgan- 
Guggenheim, Rockefeller-Ryan, Phelps-Dodge, Calumet & Hecla, and 
U. S. Smelting, Refining & Mining Co.) interested in refinery owner- 
ship. No small producer has the capital or the size to be able to enter 



COPPER 



231 



this field. Table 39 shows electrolytic copper refineries of the United 
States and their ownerships : 



Table 39. — Ownership and Capacity op American Copper Refineries 



Works 



Ownership, 
group — 



1917 capacity 
(pounds) 



Baltimore Copper Smelting & Rolling Co 

Nichols Copper Co. Independent and in part 

Raritan Copper Works 

American Smelting & Refining Co 

United States Metals Refining Co 

Tacoma Smelting Co 

Anaconda Copper Mining Co. (new plant) 

Calumet & Hecla Mining Co 

Anaconda Copper Mining Co. (old plant) 

Balbach Smelting & Refining Co. 1 (former German affil- 
iations) 



1 and 
4 
3 

1 and 
8 

1 and 
3 
5 
3 



720,000,000 
500,000,000 
460,000,000 
288,000,000 
250,000,000 
204,000,000 
180,000,000 
65,000,000 
65,000,000 

48,000,000 



Total capacity . 



Electrolytic copper 

Secondary electrolytic copper 

Imported copper made into electrolytic. 

Total 1917 refinery production. . . . 



2,780,000,000 

1917 production 
(pounds) 

1,452,744,593 

66,337,771 

555,000,000 

2,074,082,364 



1 This company treats copper scrap and imported copper ores and matte. 

The refineries control the situation to a very considerable extent. 
A copper producer must obtain electrolytic refining in order to market 
his product. Lake copper and casting copper do not require electrolytic 
refining, although producers of casting are often at a disadvantage when 
there is a big premium on electrolytic copper and casting can only be sold 
at a large discount. 

The smelters do not control the situation in the same way. In the 
United States are a large number of custom smelters — 32 — that actively 
compete for ores; some have many branches. Moreover, a mine of any 
size will have its own smelter, as the capital investment is far less than 
that required for an electrolytic refinery. As the table shows, there are 
only seven groups (the six above enumerated and the Balbach Smelting 
& Refining Co.) interested in electrolytic refining, and one of these (the 
smallest) is to a considerable degree interested in the treatment of second- 
ary or scrap copper. 

The electrolytic refinery control of the copper production of the 
United States is shown by the 1917 figures. In that year the production 
of electrolytic copper was 1,452,744,593 pounds; of Lake copper, 238, 



232 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

508,091 pounds; and of casting copper, 152,293,487 pounds. Electro- 
lytic copper thus constituted 77j^ per cent, of the total. 

Control Through Selling and Distribution of Copper in Finished Form. — 
Groups owning mines, smelters, and refineries invariably also control or 
own the selling agencies that distribute the product to the consumer. 
In these cases, control through selling is the same as control through 
mine ownership, but is increased by the copper in ores received at custom 
smelters. 

Control through selling, then, is identical to the control shown in 
Table 38, so far as groups 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 are concerned, if certain addi- 
tions at the expense of the other groups are made. But every producer of 
Lake copper controls the sale of its product, because Lake copper needs 
no electrolytic refining. Hence in groups 5 and 9 mine ownership and 
control through selling are identical. This is a fact of considerable 
interest and confirms the fact of control through refinery ownership. 
Groups 6 and 7 (Table 38) are large producers, and although they do not 
own refineries they are able to control the sales of their product. The 
refineries are willing to refine their copper on toll and return the marketa- 
ble copper to the mine owners, who make sale to the trade. Groups 2, 
3, and 7 now control copper even further, as they own brass mills, wire and 
rod mills, etc. They manufacture a part of their production and sell it 
as copper wire, finished brass, etc., instead of making sales to the brass 
and wire mills of ingots, bars, cakes, etc., which is and has been always 
the general practice. 

There remains to consider the control, through selling, of the six 
uncertain groups (total production 63,820,173 pounds) and some of the 
134,458,614 pounds of copper produced from custom ore. A large 
part of this, as noted, is lodged in groups 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8. 

For many years three concerns affiliated with the German metal 
combines (Merton Co. and Metallgesellschaft, of Frankfort-on-the-Main, 
and Aaron Hirsch, of Halberstadt) have been active in the copper busi- 
ness of the United States. Their activity has been confined to selling 
of copper produced in this country, and to ownership and selling of copper 
produced in foreign countries but brought to the United States for smelt- 
ing and refining. One small refinery is or was owned by this group in the 
United States, and two smelters, treating mainly foreign ores. It also 
owns smelters in Mexico and South America, and had close connections 
with two large refineries in New Jersey, so that it sold all the electrolytic 
copper produced by one plant and an important part of the production 
of the other plant. 

German Control of American Copper. — The exact German ownership 
of these concerns was disclosed during the war by the work of the Alien 
Property Custodian, and was as follows: (1) American Metal Co., with 
an issued capital of $7,000,000, of which the German holdings amounted 
to $3,336,000, or close to 50 per cent.; these holdings were taken over by 



COPPER 233 

the United States authorities; (2) L. Vogelstein & Co., of which 80 per 
cent, of the stock was held by Germans (A. Hirsch & Sohn) and 15 per 
cent, by L. Vogelstein, a naturalized American citizen; (3) Beer, Sond- 
heimer & Co., entirely German owned. The government seized the two 
last-named concerns. 

The American Metal Co. markets the copper of the Old Dominion, 
East Butte, Shannon, Penn. Mining Co. and Ducktown Sulphur, Coal 
& Iron companies. Blister copper 99 per cent, pure is purchased on 
contract from the first-named four companies by the American Metal 
Co. This copper is refined for the American Metal Co. by the Nichols 
Copper Co., and the finished product sold to the trade by the American 
Metal Co. The Ducktown Sulphur, Copper & Iron Co. sells all of its 
production, as copper matte, to the American Metal Co., which has it 
treated and sells the finished product. In this manner 58,820,173 
pounds was controlled through sale by the American Metal Co. in 1917. 
In addition, considerable domestic custom ore and a large amount of 
copper imported from Canada (Granby), South America and Mexico 
is handled by the American Metal Co. in the same way. Such imported 
copper totals up to three times as much as the domestic copper so con- 
trolled. 

So far as domestic copper is concerned this situation will be corrected. 
The Nichols Copper Co. is free to refine this copper and sell it or turn it 
back to the producers for sale ; it does this latter for Phelps-Dodge and 
Miami. It can be assumed that control through selling will cease as 
regards the 58,820,173 pounds cited above and also as regards Granby's 
production — about 50,000,000 pounds. 

The American Metal Co. may be sold to American interests, 1 thus 
clearing up the situation in imported copper to some extent. Certain 
Mexican and Chilean properties owned by the American Metal Co. will 
perhaps not be sold, and such properties can be considered as likely 
always to be German owned. 

The American Metal Co. owns the Balbach electrolytic refinery, 
and from treatment of scrap and imported copper (Chilean and Japanese 
blister and copper) at that plant obtains and sells about 50,000,000 
pounds of refined copper per annum. 

The concern of L. Vogelstein & Co. lost its chief hold on American copper 
production in 1915. Up to that time L. Vogelstein & Co. worked very 
closely with group 8 (United States Smelting, Refining & Mining Co.). 
The output of the United States Smelting Refining & Mining Co. mines 
and smelters was sold by Vogelstein as well as the output of its electro- 
lytic refinery. But since 1915 this American-owned enterprise itself 
sells all the copper produced by its own mines and smelters. 

1 The German holdings in the American Metal Co. are reported sold to an 
American syndicate in which L. Vogelstein participated. 



234 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

But Vogelstein still controls the sale of the copper treated at the 
plant of the United States Metals Refining Co., 1 over and above what 
is produced by the United States Smelting, Refining & Mining Co. from 
its own mines and smelters. This remaining copper consists in part of 
imported copper, and in part of the output of the Consolidated Arizona 
Smelting Co., which is an American-owned enterprise. The output was 
large in 1917 (about 20,000,000 pounds) but three-fourths of it was ore 
from the United Verde Extension mine. The United Verde Extension 
has since completed its own smelter and no longer turns over a part of its 
copper output to Vogelstein through the Consolidated Arizona Smelting 
Co. The output of United Verde (group 6) also was formerly sold by 
Vogelstein, but now is sold by the owner of the mine. 

Therefore, the only copper controlled in 1918 by Vogelstein through 
selling was about 50,000,000 pounds a year, the output of mines owned 
by Consolidated Arizona Smelting Co. (about 5,000,000 pounds) and the 
imported copper, of which about 45,000,000 pounds was treated in 1917. 
The latter is controlled by Vogelstein not only by selling of the product 
but in part by smelting contracts and in part probably, as regards South 
America, by ownership of mines. 2 

Beer, Sondheimer & Co. has never been a large factor in the United 
States copper industry, although much interested in zinc. But the 
firm does control the sale of some copper and owns a smelter at Norfolk. 
This smelter treats imported ores for the most part, but also obtains some 
copper from pyrites (sulphur ores) coming from the United States and 
Canada. Perhaps as much as 10,000,000 pounds of domestic copper was 
sold by Beer, Sondheimer & Co. in 1917. The company owns an impor- 
tant Cuban mine. 

As American capital owns American copper mines, smelters and re- 
fineries, German interests were able to obtain a foothold only through 
selling organizations (trading in metals), which later they extended to 
close working arrangements with electrolytic refineries, which were 
naturally interested in finding a good cash market for their output. 
The fact that Germany prior to 1914 was the biggest foreign buyer of 
United States copper, made easy the successful development of the 
carefully laid German plans. 

In the future such plans can be guarded against by encouraging copper 
producers to sell their own output. All the large producers already do 
this, a change in this respect having developed since 1914. Sales in 
foreign markets can now be properly managed under the provisions of 
recent legislation permitting copper producers to enter into a combination 

1 The United States Metals Refining Co. was a subsidiary of the United States 
Smelting, Refining & Mining Co., sold, 1920, to the American Metal Co. 

2 L. Vogelstein is reported to have sold his interests to the American Metal Co. 
and subsequently, early in 1920, to have acquired a fifth interest in that company. 



COPPER 235 

in the sale of export copper. This counteracts the old German system 
of a buyers 7 combine against the sellers of copper, which was an important 
factor in forcing American producers to have German concerns sell 
their product. But it will be necessary for the electrolytic refineries to 
co-operate in this policy of American selling control of American copper. 
Producers whose output is only a few million pounds per annum prob- 
ably cannot afford to establish their own selling agencies; such producers 
will include all who have no smelter but ship to custom smelting plants. 
The production can be sold by the large custom smelting plants, which 
are American owned, or these small producers could establish a common 
sales agency. Other larger producers, as those whose copper is now sold 
by the American Metal Co., should be enabled to do their own selling. 
In this they have been blocked by the lack of refining facilities, except 
on a basis that took away from them selling control of their product. 
This situation can be corrected by regulations that put electrolytic re- 
fineries on a recognized toll basis for all American customers. All 
refineries have about the same costs and their combined capacity is 
ample to treat all the blister copper that will be produced. They should 
receive good profits on the business, but it should be unlawful for refineries 
to refuse to treat blister copper on toll and insist that copper must be 
sold to them outright. The toll system is already in use at several re- 
fineries and has proved satisfactory. 

As shown above, there are in the United States a few very large re- 
fineries whose ownership is in few hands. If these refineries control the 
sale of all the production of copper several objectionable features develop. 
The few sales agencies handle so much copper that there is a tendency to 
co-operate with representatives of foreign consumers who can buy in 
large quantities, and it is not difficult to manipulate the market 
temporarily, in disregard of actual conditions of demand and supply. 
Thus the entire output of copper, one of our great natural resources, is 
placed in the hands of groups who, while interested in mining, are more 
interested in refining. The best interests of the industry are more nearly 
those of the miner than of the refiner. Therefore, the most positive 
dislodgment of former German control of copper through selling will 
come from the breaking up of the former system and transferring each 
unit of that system to other hands; rather than transferring the old 
units in block to non-German hands. Sales of American copper should 
be handled by a large number of separate agencies actively competing 
for the domestic market; this is essential in the interests of the consumer 
and of the country. But export copper business should be handled through 
one agency or association representing all the sales agencies, as is now 
legal, and this should be done in the interests of the producer and of the 
country. 



236 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



Reserves of United States Copper Mines. — The developed reserves 
of United States copper deposits are fully equal, in proportion to output, 
to such reserves in foreign copper deposits. This insures the fact that 
for the next ten years, at least, the copper production of the United States 
will maintain its present relative dominance over all foreign countries. 

A large proportion of all copper deposits are of such a deep-seated 
character that at no time can large reserves be positively developed, even 
when they exist. On the other hand, all over the world the mines with 
large known reserves are horizontal deposits, lying near the surface, 
because only in such occurrences is it possible to block out easily and 
cheaply big tonnages of ore. There are in the United States six very 
important deposits of this type, the so-called " porphyries. " These are : 



Table 40. — "Porphyry" Copper Mines in the United States 



Mine 



Reserves (tons) 



Years of life at 

present 

production 



Utah Copper Co 

Ray Consolidated Copper Co 

Chino Copper Co 

Inspiration Consolidated 

Nevada Consolidated 

Miami Copper Co 

Total 



200,000,000 
90,000,000 
80,000,000 

120,000,000 
80,000,000 
50,000,000 

620,000,000 



31 
30 
27 
20 
20 
20 



26 



These mines in 1917 produced 31.5 per cent, of the total United States 
output. 

The New Cornelia mine is of similar type and has already developed 
75,000,000 tons, but as it is new its 1917 output was small. The 
Arizona Copper Co., Ltd., is also of this type, as are certain new develop- 
ments in the Phelps-Dodge properties. 

These " porphyry" deposits occur in or near intrusive igneous rocks 
of various ages. Fully one-third of the United States production is 
now and will continue to be obtained from such deposits. On the aver- 
age, about 1 per cent, copper is recovered from the ore. 

Distinct from the shallow and horizontal-lying disseminated ores or 
"porphyry coppers," are the deep mines. The two oldest and most 
important deep-mine districts in the United States are Butte, Montana, 
and the Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan. The mines of Butte work 
steeply dipping veins. It cannot be considered that over five years of ore 
reserves are known, and probably not over 2J£ years of reserves are 
actually blocked out on three sides. However, there are no indications 
of early exhaustion, as the veins are profitable at more than 3,000 feet, 



COPPER 



237 



the greatest depth to which mining has yet progressed. The deposits 
of northern Michigan are in pre-Cambrian rocks. They have been 
important producers of copper for over 50 years, and several mines have 
reached a vertical depth of more than 5,000 feet. Certainly not over 
five years of ore reserves are fully developed, but there are no signs of 
early exhaustion. These two districts, Butte and Michigan, now produce 
about 30 per cent, of the total United States output, a smaller propor- 
tion than before the development of the " porphyries. " The average 
copper content of the Michigan deposits ranges from 0.5 per cent, to 2 
per cent, and of the Butte deposits 2.5 to 5 per cent. 

Certain ore deposits (usually massive but irregular) which are situ- 
ated mainly in Arizona constitute the third important general class. 
These deposits produce about one-quarter of the total United States 
output. Bisbee, Jerome and Globe (Arizona), and Kennecott (Alaska), 
are the main localities. Owing to the irregular nature of the deposits 
and the distance from the surface at which the ore is found, large de- 
veloped reserves cannot be blocked out in advance. Such reserves are 
assumed to be five years. 

Apart from the three classes of deposits described above are many 
smaller deposits, of which the most distinct class are the pyritic bodies, 
notably those of Tennessee and California. Such deposits are often 
profitable even when of low grade, because the sulphur as well as the 
copper is recovered. Reserves in such deposits are large: equal, say, to 
ten years ; life. Deposits of this class are important in Spain, Norway 
and in part in Japan. Mines producing copper as a by-product should 
also be grouped here. 

From the above outline the table below has been compiled : 

Table 41. — Developed Reserves of United States Copper Mines 



General group 



Percentage of 
total output 



Years of 
life 



Extension 1 



The "porphyries" 

Deep mines 

Rich ore bodies (Arizona and Alaska) 

Pyritic ore bodies 

Others 



35 

30 

25 

5 

5 



26 
5 
5 

10 
2 



9.10 
1.50 
1.25 
0.50 
0.10 



Average . 



100 



12.4 



12.45 



1 "Extension" is the Percentage of Total Output multiplied by the Years of Life, 
giving the relative importance of each group. 



The known ore reserves serve as a basis for the assumption that the 
production of copper in the United States will continue at the present 
figures for at least ten years. 



238 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

CANADA 

Canadian copper-producing properties are entirely controlled by 
American and British capital in about equal proportion, changes involv- 
ing construction of new refineries and a shift in selling control being as- 
sumed to be already effective. Up to the present time the natural de- 
velopment has been for Canada to depend largely on the United States 
for refining f acilities. It is likely that in the future local or English control 
in this field will be closer than heretofore, although the Canadian copper 
industry will always be closely identified with that of the United States. 

There are three chief copper properties in Canada which are controlled 
by United States capital, all in British Columbia, as well as several small 
mines in this province and in others. By far the largest is the Granby 
Consolidated Mining, Smelting & Power Co. This company has mines 
in two districts. One of these properties is nearly exhausted; the other 
is a new and vigorous producer. Smelters are operated at each place. 
The Granby company is controlled by the same interests that own the 
Nichols Copper Co. (electrolytic refinery). Considerable custom ore is 
treated by Granby, a large amount coming from Alaska. The other 
two mines are those of the Canada Copper Co. and the Howe Sound Co. 
Their production is refined and sold in the United States by American 
concerns. The developed reserves at these three mines are all large, 
being fully adequate for fifteen years at the present rate of production. 

The only property in Canada which has established facilities for 
producing copper ready for the consumer is the Consolidated Mining & 
Smelting Co., of Trial, B. C. This Canadian company owns and op- 
erates its own mines, smelter and electrolytic refinery. The capacity 
of the refinery is now 14,000,000 pounds refined copper annually. The 
ores are massive pyritic bodies without great developed reserves, but 
the probable reserves are large. 

The English and American properties at Sudbury yield nearly as 
much copper as the Granby company, although their main business is 
nickel production. A small part of the output is refined in Wales, pro- 
ducing copper sulphate; but the largest part has been refined in New 
Jersey. A refinery is being completed in Canada that will treat these 
copper-nickel mattes and produce refined copper. These copper-nickel 
deposits occur in pre-Cambrian rocks, and the known or potential reserves 
are very large. They are described in more detail in Chapter VI. 

In Ontario and Quebec there are a number of pyrite mines where 
some of the pyrite contains considerable copper. Most of the pyrite is 
shipped to the United States, where the copper is recovered, refined and 
sold. 

The production of Canada is growing, and the country will become of 
increasing importance as a source of copper. Known reserves are larger 



COPPER 239 

in proportion to output than in the United States and there will prob- 
ably be important developments of new districts. The northern British 
Columbia region is of exceptional promise. 

CUBA AND THE CARIBBEAN 

The copper output of Cuba has increased in an extraordinary degree 
during the past few years, but there are no indications that this increase 
will continue. Two mines are responsible for nearly all the production. 
One is an old mine near Santiago, the El Cobre, which yielded about one- 
quarter of the total output. It is owned by the German metal combine, 
which ships the ore and concentrates to Norfolk, where they are treated 
by the smelter owned by Beer, Sondheimer & Co., who have always mark- 
eted the production. The Matahambre mine, in Pinar del Rio Province, 
yields nearly the entire remaining Cuban output; it is owned by Cubans. 
Ore is shipped to the United States Smelting, Refining & Mining Co., of 
New York, and is believed to be sold by L. Vogelstein & Co. The reserves 
of copper ore in Cuba can not be considered large. Statistics of Cuban 
output are conflicting: producers' reports, statistical authorities and 
United States commerce reports not being in agreement. All production 
is shipped in crude form to the United States for refining. 

There are copper deposits in Central America, 1 and at one or two points 
in the West Indies outside of Cuba. To date production has been in- 
significant, although future possibilities are considerable. 

MEXICO 

The future importance of Mexico as a producer of copper or of other 
metals will be determined not only by the character of her natural 
deposits but by political conditions. The latter have materially de- 
creased the output during the past few years, so that in 1917 production 
was about 100,000,000 pounds, probably not much over half what it 
would have been had normal conditions been continuous since 1912. 

Commercial Control. — Three companies now produce about three- 
fourths of the total copper. Two of these are owned by American capital 
and their product is refined and sold in the United States. Situated near 
the Arizona border, they have not suffered from the revolution as much as 
the properties farther south. These two companies are the Greene 
Cananea Copper Co. (Ryan-Rockefeller, group 3 of Table 38) and Mon- 
tezuma Copper Co. (Phelps-Dodge, etc.; group 4 of Table 38). The 
developed reserves at the Montezuma Copper Co. are equivalent to five 
years at present production and those at Cananea can be considered about 

1 The Rosita mine, in Nicaragua, has 1,500,000 tons of ore blocked out, running 
over 5 per cent, copper. It has not been equipped. 



240 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

the same. Both districts have important possibilities. Near Greene 
Cananea is another American property, Democrata Cananea, which is 
a producer of moderate size. The Cananea district is now producing 
at the rate of over 50,000,000 pounds per annum. Another American 
property of note is the Teziutlan Copper Co., Puebla, now idle due to 
revolutions. It has a smelter which normally ships 12,000,000 pounds 
of blister copper annually to the Anaconda company's electrolytic plant. 
Considerable copper is produced at the plants of the American Smelting 
& Refining Co., which has three copper smelters, one at Matehuala, San 
Luis Potosi ; one at Asarco and another at Aguascalientes, Durango. 

French capital controls the third important property (among the three 
most important in Mexico), which is on the peninsula of Lower Cali- 
fornia. This is the Boleo, owned by the Rothschilds; as it is far removed 
from the heart of Mexico, operations have not been greatly disturbed. 
The mine is an old producer with large potential reserves, and the actual 
developed reserves will maintain present output for six years. The 
Boleo ore deposits, which are of an uncommon type, are Tertiary sedi- 
ments that contain 3.5 per cent, copper ore, usually as oxides. Smelters 
near the mine produce blister copper and matte, which normally is ship- 
ped to France. During the war a large part of the blister and matte 
came to the United States and passed into the hands of the American 
Smelting & Refining Co. French interests also own the Compagnie d' 
Inguaran, near Ario, Michoacan. There are large developed reserves, 
but the property is idle because of political conditions and absence of 
equipment or rail connections. French capital also controls the Magis- 
tral Ameca Co., in Jalisco, where large ore reserves have been developed. 
This property is also idle due to political conditions. 

English capital controls the Mazapil Copper Co., which has large 
plants, including smelters, in Zacatecas and Coahuila. This is one of the 
largest copper companies in Mexico as well as one of the oldest important 
mines. It was idle for some time because of the Mexican revolutions, 
but has been reopeneed recently. 

To sum up, the production in Mexico at present is three-quarters 
American controlled (of which one-half may be assigned to group 3 and 
one-quarter to groups 2 and 4) , while the remaining one-quarter is French 
controlled. But present output and known reserves give no true picture 
of future possibilities. Mexico can become of first importance as a 
copper producer, ranking possibly second only to the United States or 
equaling Chile and Japan among the world's producers. The natural 
resources are there and in the future will surely be developed much more 
extensively than ever before. 

German capital must be taken into consideration, and especiaUy the 
activities of the American Metal Co. in Mexico, notably more vigorous 
since 1914 than before. It is believed that the company has made 



COPPER 241 

substantial profits from Mexican mining investments in this period and 
has obtained a very strong foothold. The Compafiia Metallurgica de 
Torreon is one of the American Metal Co. subsidiaries, owning promising 
mines, chiefly in the development state, and smelters already equipped 
to produce 20,000,000 pounds of copper yearly. The Mapimi smelter is 
also owned by the American Metal Co., as are many other companies. 
What is the future Mexican political situation to be and what part will 
the American Metal Co. or the German metal combine play in the Mexi- 
can copper industry? There is no more pertinent question in the entire 
field of the political and commercial control of the copper resources of the 
world, particularly as American capital is largely interested in Mexican 
copper mines and has made enormous investments there. Also the 
natural tendency is for most of the Mexican copper to be shipped to the 
United States for refining and marketing. American refineries, with 
cheap fuel and efficient methods, are the natural destination for Mexican 
raw copper. 

SOUTH AMERICA 

South America is the second largest copper-producing continent of 
the world, but at present stands far behind North America. The copper- 
producing countries of South America, in the order of their importance, 
are Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela and Argentina. 

CHILE 

Chile is a copper producer of rapidly increasing importance, as indi- 
cated by production records of recent years. 1 

1914 1915 1916 1917 

Metric tons 44,665 52,341 71,288 95,000 

The largest mines of Chile are controlled by American capital. Group 
2 of Table 38 (the Morgan-Guggenheim interests) controls the Chile 
Copper Co., Braden Copper Co. and the Caldera and Carrizal custom 
smelters. The developed ore reserves of the Chile Copper Co. are the 
largest in any known copper deposits in the world and the reserves of 
Braden are among the largest known. Group 3 of Table 38 (Anaconda 
Copper Co.) has a property with large developed ore reserves — the 
Andes Copper Co. This mine is not yet (1918) producing. 

Table 43 (p. 243) gives data concerning these American-owned mines. 

These three mines are allied to the " porphyries" of the United States 
in character, but they are less profitable because the external conditions 
make operation more difficult. 

The Caldera and Carrizal custom smelters of the American Smelting 

1 According to Chilean statistics, and estimate for 1917. 
16 



242 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



to 
M 

u 

o3 

a 

0> 


73 
<B 
DO 

03 
0> 

o 
CI 

0) O 

^ Q 

'% 
>> 

a 

03 

D 


Caldera plant 
Carrizal plant 








c 

a 

c 

1 

Q 

c 
a 
a 



1 

PC 


a 

.■« 

CQ g 

& a 

o = 
■*» a 

73 C 

ft * 

ft * 

&0 h 








c 

C3 

-p 

03 

-c 



c3 
OD 

tH 

c 

c 

i- 
Ph 


© 
.9 

p 

1 

ft 






c 

o 
s 

pq 
> 

V 

a 

a) 


.2 

u 
c 
"c 

a 

^i 
^t 

o 

I 

B 
;ft 


trict. 

Formerly shipped matte to 
England. 

Shipped to big smelters or ex- 
ported. 

Shipped to big smelters or ex- 
ported. 






>> 

a 

03 

ft CO 

3 .5 

o a 

2 "3 
.5 w 


.2 i 

03 03 


es G 
ft ft 

a a 

o o 
o o 

OJ 0! 

*S *o 

00 00 

0> OJ 

PI (3 


8 
>> 1 

a 

03 w oo 

73 73 
aj uj . oj o> 

5 ^ l 3 , pi a 
•^ ° JJ ^ ^ 
-S -3 o o 

a ^ >> >> 

1 1 § ^ « 

So 3 P 


c3 ft 


73 

a 

03 
>-, 0> 

e- a ft 

o ft ° 
o o 

sill 

«3 oo m Q 
P§ 3 3 


2 1 

* g .a 

Sc3 


"S 

a 

X) 

a 

03 

OJ cp 

.2 .2 

s s 


S3 a3 ^ ^ 

.2 .2 03 ~e3 4> 

S 3 § § o 


00 

Ss 
>;* 

03 

5 


o o o o 
o o o o 
o o o ©_ 
o" o o o 
o o o o 
o © o © 
o" <n~ tjT ■* 

N N M <N 


© 

© s 

9. = 

O 0J 

© >> 

°- © 

© iO 

■>* I-l 


© © © 

o © © 
o © © 
©" o* ©* 

o © © 

© © © 
© of oo" 


© 
o 
0_ m 

©* o3 
O oj 
°. ^ 
©" CO 


© © 
© © 

o © 

©* ©- 
© © 
© © 

lO ©" 


© 

O oo 

© « 

8 ^ 


© © © © 
© © o o 

© po o O © oj 
©* 03 6" ©" ©" M 
© v o © © 2 
© >. ©_ o ©_ ,3 

h iQ CO CO »C 


00 

B 
O 

O © .2 
°. °. ^ 

o © <u 

§8 s 

© 


>> 

d 

e3 

a 

a 

o 
O 


6 

\ 

c 

c 

c 
C 

_a 

c 


c 


a 

-1 

s 

4 

2 
« 


o 
O 

•13 


a 

o 

00 

3 

6 

a 

■+- 

« -2 
cc 

a; a 
cri -3 % 

. a & 

c 
E- 


S-. 

GO 
0> 

u 

ft . 

o . 

a : 

00 ' 

® : 

03 • 

CO 

.- c 

S 00 


c 

c 

c 

-C 

C 

"r 
t- 

P 

a. 

c 


a 

p 

'i 

! 


g 



E 
■ 
E 

c 

! 

z 

c 


a 

'E 
pq 

3 
c 
Eh 


CO 

s 

t: 

CO 

3 

h 

"to 

.s 

u 
a> 

c 

2 

a 

.2 

'6 
pq 


1- 

c 

c 
a 

c 


i 
\ 

| 
1 


I 

c 


CO 

o 

> 

"co 
01 

ft 

C 
ft 

s 


c 
£ 
a 

t 




00 

s 
> 

s 

P4 

a 
"a 

£ 

a 

c 

ei 

c 


a 

t- 
i 

i % 

A £ 
a> a 

a x 
g * 

o oc 

s J 

§ £ 


00 

4) 

s 
a 

o 
2 

.2 

I j 

< 
c 


©' 
© 

© 

pi 
ft 

73 

« 

I 

ft 

M 


>> 

73 © 
Oi- 1 

d » 
O u 

D 


! 

a 

T 

a 

C 

c 


c 




Q 


o 







- 
c 
^o 

"t 

c 
K 


c 


c 

p 








0. 

c 
C 


o 

p 








£ 
"a 


5 a 

<L 




> 











COPPER 



243 



Table 43. — Output 


Reserves, and Life of Three American-owned 
Copper Mines in Chile 


Company 


Output, 

First six months of 

1918, (pounds) 


Ore reserves 
(tons) 


Life at present output, 
(years) 


Chile 


50,000,000 

36,000,000 

non-producing 

(capacity 

24,000,000) 


350,000,000 

150,000,000 

50,000,000 


200 


Braden Copper Co 

Andes Copper Co 


125 

Work suspended 

for present 





& Refining Co. treat ores shipped from various smaller mines. The 
Carrizal plant has been closed. Two chief properties are tributary to 
this plant, — the Carrizal Alto and the Astilla mines. A large number of 
properties are tributary to the Caldera plant, among them: Dulcinea, 
Flamenco, Morado, San Juan, El Gallo, etc. Throughout northern 
Chile there are a great many small copper mines. From the Braden 
property east of Valparaiso to the Chili Copper Co., southeast of Iquique, 
the entire country seems to be unusually rich in copper. 

There are five important Chilean mines controlled by French or 
British capital. See Table 42. All are vein mines with no considerable 
tonnage of developed ore reserves, and the combined output is nearly 
50,000,000 pounds of copper a year (a considerable part being from custom 
ore shipped by small mines) in the form of blister or matte. This pro- 
duction is normally shipped to France or England. 

The American Metal Co. and L. Vogelstein, representing German 
capital, are believed to control, through selling and refining, much of the 
output of the French, British and Belgian mines. These concerns also 
own custom smelters in Chile and probably have interests in many 
mining properties there. The big business in Chilean ores shipped into 
the United States is done by these concerns, although the American- 
Smelting, Refining & Mining Co. is also an important factor. These 
ores come from many small mines, although there are a few important 
ore shippers, one of which is British owned. Most of the mines are os- 
tensibly Chilean owned, but much of the financing, marketing of products, 
etc., is done by American houses with German affiliations. 

It seems that Chile may soon become the second largest copper 
producer of the world. American capital has led in the development of 
the Chilean deposits, as American interests have discovered and furnished 
funds for the equipment of the two leading producers, and the third most 
important ore body is American owned. This is the more remarkable 
in light of the fact that American capital has so far been conspicuous by 
its absence in the development of the other important industries of 



244 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Chile. Were it not for the present difficulties of building up plant facili- 
ties, due to shipping shortage, high cost of equipment, etc., the American- 
owned copper mines would today be still larger producers than they are. 
However, American capital now completely controls about seven-eighths 
of the total output. Substantially all the copper produced in Chile is 
shipped to the United States. The Chili Copper Co. produces in Chile a 
refined electrolytic copper, and this is the only finished refined copper 
produced in South America. Braden can produce a grade of copper that 
does not compete with electrolytic but is refined enough to go directly 
to the consumer. 

PERU 

Peru is one of the important copper-producing countries of the world. 
The chief mines are at extreme altitudes, however, and their character 
and location is such as to indicate that production will probably remain 
stationary or at least not show any important increases in the next few 
years. There are two important districts: Cerro de Pasco (elevation, 
14,300 feet) and Morococha (elevation 13,700 feet). 

The chief mines of these districts are now controlled by American 
capital and may be classed with group 2 of Table 38. The Morococha 
district was formerly English controlled, but the majority interests have 
lately been acquired by the Cerro de Pasco Copper Co. (American). 
The ores in both districts are exceedingly rich and the properties are well 
fortified with reserves. Developed reserves are adequate to insure four 
years' production, and everything indicates that the mines are working 
extensive and persistent ore deposits. Blister copper is shipped to the 
American Smelting & Refining Co. in New York for treatment and mar- 
keting. Both mines have fully equipped plants, including smelters. 

At the plant of Backus & Johnson Co., Morococha, some custom 
ore and matte from locally owned mines is treated. Among these mines 
are those of J. Galliver, producing 600 tons matte a year. Backus & 
Johnson also have a smelter and mines in the Casapalca district. The 
Sayapullo Syndicate (English) is working the Sayapullo mine under 
option from the Peruvian owners. Some of this matte is shipped to the 
Casapalca smelter, and the rest is exported to the United States. The 
output so far is small; at present 800 tons per year. 

Certain small companies ship ores to the United States : from these 
the copper content amounted to about 4,000,000 pounds in 1917. This 
goes (1919) chiefly to the American Metal Co. and L. Vogelstein for 
refining and selling. This ore comes from Salaverry and Trujillo (Casa- 
palca district), Mollendo (southern district, including Ferrobamba, see 
below) , and Callao. All the blister copper is shipped from Callao except 
small amounts shipped by Backus & Johnson from the Casapalca district. 
An American company has developed a large body of low-grade ore at 



COPPER 



245 



Ferrobamba (Cotobamba Province), southern Peru. The property is 
inaccessible and no work is now being done. 

The following resume gives some of the salient facts concerning the 
Peruvian copper producers : 



Table 44. — Production of Copper 


in Peru in 1918 




Output 


Developed 
Reserves 


Product 


Control 


Cerro de Pasco . . 
Backus & John- 
son 


72,000,000 (-) 

28,000,000 (-) 
5,000,000 (?) 
5,000 000 


4 years 

4 years 

4 years 

? 


Blister Copper 

Do 
Do 
Ore 


United States 
Do 


Huaron (new) . . . 
Ore shippers 


French 
Local 




110,000,000 





BOLIVIA 

There is one important copper producing locality in Bolivia — Coro 
Coro, central Bolivia (elevation 12,000 feet). Beds of sandstone carry 
native copper and veins of sulphides. The mines are owned by French 
capital. There is no smelter, but concentrates running up to 85 per cent, 
copper are exported to France for treatment. Production is about 
12,000,000 pounds annually. Reserves are large, but the almost inacces- 
sible location of the mines has retarded development. Recently, there 
has been more activity, a flotation concentrator having been installed. 

Some of the Bolivian tin and silver mines produce small amounts of 
copper, but outside of Coro Coro total copper production is insignificant. 

VENEZUELA 

The Aroa Mines, an English syndicate, owns a copper mine and smelt- 
er producing low-grade matte. The property is located along the 
railroad which terminates at the port of Tucacas. In 1917 the output 
was 3,500,000 pounds. The product was shipped to the United States 
and refined and sold there by L. Vogelstein & Co. 



ARGENTINA 

There are some copper prospects in the extreme western portion of 
the country, which are really extensions from the Chilean copper- 
producing areas. One company, Famatina, Ltd., is an English concern 
which has had an unfortunate career. The company operates the only 
copper smelter in Argentina, a small affair that mines irregularly. At 
last accounts a few hundred tons of blister copper was the annual output; 



246 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



this has always been shipped to England, but recently attempts have 
been made to ship to New York. This blister is exceedingly rich in 
silver (6 per cent, silver). 

AFRICA 

Africa is a copper producer of growing importance, almost entirely 
because of the development of one group of deposits (Katanga), which 
overshadows all others to such an extent that the African situation 
is almost completely described by a discussion of the properties of the 
Tanganyika Concession, Ltd. The mines of this company yield now 
three-quarters of the copper production of Africa, and their importance 
in the future will be still greater. 

The copper production of Africa comes from south of the Equator and 
from six general districts, as follows : 





Table 45. — Copper Production of Africa 

(Production, pounds of fine copper) 




1 

tv +^„+ Province and chief 
District minea 


1917 output 


1918-1919, 

estimated 

output 


Control 


Reserves, years 
of life at 
this rate of 
output 


1. 

2. 


Congo: Katanga 1 .. 
Bwan M'Kubwa. 
Transvaal: Mess- 
ina 


60,000,000 
4,000,000? 

14,000,000 
7,000,000 

7,000,000 

10,000,000? 2 

2,000,000 
1,000,000? 


80,000,000 
3,000,000 

12,000,000 
7,000,000 

6,000,000 

15,000,000? 

4,000,000? 
1,000,000? 


English-Belgian 
English 

English 
English 

English 

(English since 
conquest of Ger- 
man Southwest 
Africa) 

French 


100 
large 

U 


3. 

4. 


Rhodesia: Falcon. 
Cape Colony: 
Gape Copper- Na- 
maqua 


4 
2 


5. 
6. 


Former German 
Southwest- Africa: 
Tsumeb (Otavi). 

Khan, etc 

Miscellaneous 
northern Africa 
not specified 

Total 


4 

4 
? 




105,000,000 


128,000,000 


Almost entirely 
English 











1 Kanshanshi included in Katanga. 

2 Basis 1914. Present political conditions govern extent of work. Shipped 
1,000,000 pounds copper in ore to United States in 1917. 

In District 1, the Katanga district, which includes the Belgian Congo 
and adjacent territory, the Union Miniere du Haut Katanga has 



COPPER 247 

acquired from the Belgian Special Committee the ownership of all of the 
Katanga copper belt but not the Kanshanshi deposit in Rhodesia. 
Equal, but not the entire, share interests of this company are owned by 
the Tanganyika Concessions, Ltd., and the Katanga (Belgian) Special 
Committee. The Lubumbashi smelter of U. M. du Haut Katanga, at 
Elisabethville, close to the Rhodesian boundary, has seven blast furnaces 
with a daily capacity of 2,000 tons. The ore treated runs 15 per cent, 
copper, and yields 96 per cent, blister copper. The past production is 
as follows: 1911, 996 tons blister copper; 1912, 2,492 tons; 1913, 7,407 
tons; 1914, 10,722 tons; 1915, 14,190 tons; 1916, 22,165 tons; 1917, 
30,000 tons. This copper is shipped to England, and is consumed there 
and in France after further refining. There is very little gold and silver 
in the copper, so it goes to market largely as refined, best selected and 
tough copper. 

Tanganyika Concessions, Ltd., owns concessions in northern Rhodesia 
containing the Kanshanshi mine (a deposit similar to those in Katanga) 
owned by a subsidiary railroad company, 70 per cent, of which is owned 
by Tanganyika Concessions, Ltd. A small blast furnace there is pro- 
ducing. The actual railroad connection with Katanga is north from 
Rhodesia and thence to the eastern coast of Africa. An uncompleted 
line from the West Coast is planned to connect these mineral deposits 
with Lobito Bay (Benguella Ry. Co.). The Portuguese government has 
a small interest in certain railway fines in its territory. It seems that 
the English group, (R. Williams, who was an associate of Cecil Rhodes, 
T. White and others) with the Belgian Special Committee, control the 
entire group; but a considerable interest has been sold to the public, 
mainly British and Belgian investors. 

The Bwan M'Kubwa mine farther south on the Rhodesia railroad is a 
deposit of the same general character. This is owned by British capital, 
two of the Rhodesian development companies holding a large block of 
the stock. 

Ore bodies are found in Katanga over a district extending 250 miles 
east-west and 50 miles north-south, and also at scattered localities in 
Rhodesia. Malachite chiefly and other oxidized ores impregnate certain 
sediments and constitute the ore bodies, which are very rich (10 to 15 
per cent, copper). At Luushia sulphides (3 per cent, copper as chalcopy- 
rite) occur beneath the oxidized ore. Cobalt is common; there is some 
nickel but not much gold and silver. The developed reserves of the 
mines of Katanga are estimated at 40,000,000 tons of 8 per cent, copper 
ore above water level, equal to 100 years' production at the present 
rate of output; of the Bwan M'Kubwa mine in Rhodesia at 3,000,000 
tons of 4 per cent, ore, besides ore of lesser grade. The reserves of the 
Kanshanshi mine, in Rhodesia, are not included in the estimates. 

In District 2, near the Rhodesian boundary, is the Messina mine, the 



248 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

only copper producer of the Transvaal. Along veins in very old gneissic 
rocks occur shoots and lenses of chalcocite and enargite with some oxide. 
A little matte is made at the mine but the chief product is concentrates 
(45 to 50 per cent, copper), all of which were shipped to England. Lately 
they have been in part sent to the United States. The production was 
about 14,000,000 pounds in 1915 and the same in 1916. Reserves of 
208,000 tons of 5 per cent, ore are reported developed, or not much over 
one year's supply. The company is strictly English. 

In District 3, the Falcon mines in Central Rhodesia belong to an Eng- 
ligh company which is treating copper-gold ore occurring in old schists. 
The production was about 7,000,000 pounds in 1916. The ore carries 
2 per cent, copper, $5 in gold, and the reserves are stated at 862,000 tons 
of this grade, or about four years' supply. 

In the French Congo, just north of the mouth of Congo River, is a belt 
of copper deposits 60 miles long, which have been worked for centuries 
by the natives. Diabase rocks occur in this vicinity. The output 
is very small. 

District 4, Cape Colony, is the oldest important copper producer of 
modern Africa, but its chief deposits, worked since 1852, are nearly 
exhausted. The Cape Copper Co. and Namaqua Copper Co. are south 
of the Orange River in a district 90 miles by rail from a port on the West 
Coast. The ore is bornite and chalcopyrite, in irregular lenses; the 
reserves are equivalent to only two years of production. Each mine 
has a mill and smelter. Further refining is done at the Briton Ferry 
smelter of the Cape Copper Co. in Wales, which has a capacity of 12,000 
tons per year of refined copper and electrolytic copper. All these com- 
panies, including the railroad, are entirely British. Cape Colony copper 
production is dependent on this one district, from which the 1917 output 
was 6,000,000 to 7,000,000 pounds. 

In District 5, the former colony of German Southwest Africa, copper 
deposits are numerous, and next to diamond mining the production of 
copper is the most important industry of the province. The main deposit 
is the Tsumeb in the northeast part of the country, where solid sulphides 
of lead and copper occur in dolomite. Fifty thousand tons of ore carry- 
ing 13 per cent, copper and 40 per cent, lead was shipped in 1917. There 
is a smelter here and the mine has rail connection. The company work- 
ing these deposits was the Otavi Minen und Eisenbahn, but through the 
Southwest Africa Co. the English had an interest in the property. The 
English now have control. The Khan mine, second in importance to 
Tsumeb, is working a pegmatite vein in schist. In 1914 a mill treating 
50 tons a day was shipping 60 to 70 per cent, concentrates to Europe. 
The ores are chalcopyrite and chalcocite. 

In District 6, northern Africa, there are some deposits of copper in 
Algeria, Egypt, and Morocco. They are not of importance at present. 



COPPER 



249 



De Laimay describes them as chiefly veins in rocks of much younger age 
than the important deposits of Africa which He south of the Equator. 

Matte and blister produced in Africa are normally treated at small 
English plants or at the Briton Ferry smelter, Wales, which is a plant of 
some size. 

The general economic situation as regards African copper ores in 1917 
is shown in the table. 

Table 46. — Production and Shipments of Copper from Africa in 1917 



Mine 



Production, 
(pounds) 



Chief product - 
shipped 



Shipped to — 



Katanga 

Cape Copper- Namaqua . 
Messina 



Falcon*. 



Bwan M'Kubwa 

German Southwest Africa, Otavi, 
Khan 



North Africa. 



60,000,000 

7,000,000 

14,000,000 



7,000,000 

4,000,000 

12,000,000 

1,000,000 



matte and blister 

matte 

concentrates, 
matte, hand- 
picked ore 

concentrates or 
ore 



England 
England 



England 
England 

Katanga plants 

England or Ger- 
many 
France 



105,000,000 



Considerable of this copper goes to the United States. In 1917, as 
shown below, the total amount of copper received in this country was 
7.5 per cent, of the total African production. 



Table 47. — Shipments to the United States in 1917 






Grade shipped 


Shipments 
(tons) 


Copper content 
(pounds) 


Otavi to New York 


Ore (12 per cent.) 
Ore (45 per cent. ) 
Matte (45 per cent.) 
Concentrates (55 per 
cent.) 

Blister 


3,900 
703 
306 

375 


1,048,000 
715,000 


Messina to New York 


Do 


310,000 


Cape Copper to New York 


460,000 


Katanga 


5,284 


2,533,000 
5,437,000 






Total 


8,000,000 





AUSTRALASIA 

Copper production in Australasia is not now increasing. In recent 
years the production (metric tons) has been as follows: 



250 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 

16,600 22,900 37,592 32,512 35,000 38,100 

Formerly German metal buying and refining companies controlled the 
Australian copper output (as that of lead and zinc) by virtue of refining 
and selling contracts. Hence the year 1914 brought disorganization to 
Australian mining. War-profits taxation on Australian mines has been 
severe; and government aid, formerly granted, has been largely withdrawn. 
Lack of labor, inability of new properties to obtain railroad connections, 
and absence of government encouragement to prospecting, have retarded 
the copper industry since August, 1914. Aside from former German con- 
trol based on selling and refining contracts, all Australian copper mining 
is and has been under British control. The properties are owned by Brit- 
ish and Australian capital and present refining and selling arrangements 
will prevent the German metal companies from again getting any foot- 
hold in the field. All former contracts with German agencies were ab- 
rogated. The government took this phase of the matter in hand, and one 
step was to purchase the entire production of Australia for the first half 
of 1918 at £106 to £108 per ton. 

The Australian copper situation in 1917 is exhibited in the table 
following : 

Table 48. — Production of Copper and Refining Plants in Australia in 1917 





Production, 




Chief mines 


1917, 
(long tons) 


Refineries 


Queensland : 






Mount Morgan 


8,000* 


Port Kembla plant, Electrolytic 






Refining & Smelting Co., Ltd. 


Hampden Cloncurry 


8,000! 


Capacity, 29,000 tons electrolytic 
copper per annum; 12,000 tons fire- 










refined copper per annum. 


Other Cloncurry district mines. 


4,000! 


Mount E liott completed refinery at 
Bo wen, Queensland, in 1917; capacity 
10,000 tons refined copper. 


South Australia: 






Wallaroo & Moonta 


7,000 


Wallaroo & Moonta smelter, Bowen, 
Queensland; capacity increased from 








7,000 to 10,000 tons per annum. 


Tasmania: 






Mount Lyell 


5,000 


Ships to Port Kembla. 


New South Wales: 




Great Cobar 


2,500! 
2,250 




C. S. A. and Mt. Hope, etc 




West Australia and Papua: 






New pyrite ore bodies of promise 


1,250 




opened 








38,000 





1 Ores mined are primary, consisting of chalcopyrite and chalcocite. 
enriched ores near the surface have been entirely mined out. 



Secondarily 



COPPER 251 

As stated, the ownership of these mines is strictly British, and at 
present the refining and marketing is now British instead of German. 
Two refineries, both recently enlarged and improved, now have a capa- 
city of over 60,000 tons a year, which is well in excess of the present out- 
put of the country. Towards the end of 1917, the Copper Produced 
Association Proprietary, Ltd., was formed in Australia for the purpose of 
selling and shipping copper on a co-operative basis. All copper producers 
were invited to join. Wallaroo & Moonta, Mount Morgan, Mount 
Lyell and the Cloncurry mines are members of this association, as is the 
Electrolytic Refining & Smelting Co., which treats the ores of these 
mines. The company markets its products in England and Australia. 
Its chief brands are E. S. A. (electrolytic) and E. S.A.F.R. (fire refined). 
These brands are also sold by Elder Smith & Co., Ltd., of London and 
Australia, which has had a financial interest in the Wallaroo & Moonta 
Co. since the early days, and has financed and marketed the copper 
production of this company since 1915. 

Metals Products, Ltd., has recently been formed, with works at 
Port Kembla producing copper wire, brass goods, etc. Importation of 
copper and brass products into Australia should entirely disappear if 
the plans of the Australian government and copper producers do not 
miscarry. 

The oldest mine and one of the two leading mines in Australasia is 
the Wallaroo & Moonta, in South Australia. This deposit occurs in a 
pre-Cambrian complex, intersected by pegmatitic dikes. Ore reserves 
are believed to be ample: say five years' supply of developed ore. In 
recent years, production has been very steady at about 7,000 tons per 
year of refined copper. This is the only important copper deposit of 
pre-Cambrian age in Australia. 

The other leading mine in Australia is Mount Morgan, in Queens- 
land, which until 1910 was one of the. largest gold mines in the world. 
The gold was in the oxidized top of a large low-grade copper deposit, 
which is now being mined from open cuts. Primary chalcocite, chalco- 
pyrite and pyrite with quartz constitutes the ore deposit. The ore runs 
2J^ per cent copper and is concentrated up to 7 per cent. The reserves 
exceed 4,000,000 tons of 2^ per cent, copper, or 10 years 7 supply. 

The Cloncurry district is a large area, 200 by 40 miles in extent, 
containing several copper deposits, which occur in schist and are mainly 
small bonanzas. The future of this district seems very promising. The 
chief mines are Hampden Cloncurry, Mount Elliott, Mount Cuthbert; 
and the developed ore reserves insure five years' production. The 
Hampden Cloncurry mine has 300,000 tons of 7 per cent, ore in reserve, 
a smelter producing blister copper, and railroad connections. The dis- 
trict is hampered by bad climate, etc., and especially by labor conditions. 
Recent government rulings (1918), as to very short hours of labor and 



252 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

higher wages, are reducing outputs. The Mount Elliott mine, which has 
a 300,000-ton deposit of 10 per cent, ore, is now (1919) idle because of 
labor conditions. The Mount Cuthbert mine, which completed a new 
smelter in 1917, has reserves of 150,000 tons of 6}i per cent, copper, 
and railroad connections. 

The Mount Lyell mine, in Tasmania, is an old and steady producer. 
One class of ore runs 0.5 per cent, of copper and 1.25 ounces silver; 
the other contains 6 per cent, copper ore, with the same amount of silver. 
This is a disseminated deposit in schist, near a conglomerate contact. 
No igneous rocks are known in the vicinity. The reserves are 2,000,000 
tons of low-grade ore and 1,000,000 tons of high grade; insuring the 
present output for 15 years. Considerable of the ore is mined open cut, 
and this is one of the lowest grade profitable mines in the world. Ores 
are smelted direct after being mixed, so that the product going to the 
furnace runs 2J£ per cent, copper. 

The Great Cobar mine, in New South Wales, works cupriferous pyrite 
carrying 2 to 2J^> per cent, copper. Cobar used to produce 4,000 to 5,000 
tons of copper a year. After erecting a 1,200-ton smelter in 1912, the 
company was placed in the hands of a receiver, April, 1914. The reserves 
are believed to be large. The other chief mines in New South Wales 
(the C. S. A., Mount Hope, Nymagee, etc.) produce together about as 
much as Great Cobar. These mines have smelters, and for the most part 
were formerly of much greater importance than they are today. Several 
have no railway connections, and this is an important handicap to New 
South Wales mines, which once produced twice the present output. 

In West Australia, there have been developed recently a number of 
promising deposits of pyritic copper ores. There are no important pro- 
ducers, there being no railways. 

The present conditions in Australia, in which labor conditions are 
most important, and the absence of new railroad construction, have seri- 
ously affected the development of the copper industry, but the future 
seems promising. Several important deposits have proved large and the 
ore bodies persistent. Much of the country has not been explored and 
many good showings could be worked and some probably developed into 
profitable mines if conditions were favorable to new ventures. Just the 
reverse is the case, however. The Mount Lyell company has been explor- 
ing northern Tasmania, and recently found in the mine of the Tasmania 
Copper Co. about 1,000,000 tons of ore carrying copper, zinc, gold and 
silver and worth $20 to $30 per ton, gross. 

It is believed that Australia will continue to be an important copper 
producer; probably its importance will increase. Weighted reserves, 
in terms of ore supply to maintain present output, insure copper pro- 
duction continuing undiminished for 7.2 years. These reserves are well 
distributed among the various producers. 



COPPER 



253 



ASIA 



JAPAN 



Copper deposits are found over a large part of central Japan. The 
ores, which occur in Tertiary volcanics, consist of chalcopyrite and pyrite 
running 2^ to 33^ per cent, copper, and are commonly concentrated 
before smelting. The gangue is usually quartzose. Lenticular deposits 
of cupriferous pyrite in Paleozoic schists and sediments occur on the west 
and the south side of Japan. These mines yield smelting ore carrying 
about 33^ to 4 per cent., but contain very little silica. Pyritic smelting is 
extensively practiced. Over one-half the copper production comes from 
four chief mines: Ashio and Kosaka of the Tertiary type; and Hitachi 
and Beshi of the Paleozoic schist type. 

The state reserves to itself the right of original ownership in all 
ores, including copper. The right to work them is granted to individuals 
or companies of Japanese nationality. Copper mining, smelting and 
refining companies seem to be entirely Japanese in ownership and policy. 
The number of mines is considerable, but their ownership is concentrated 
into a few hands and the smelting and refining industry is still more con- 
centrated. Japanese producers sell their own copper, all foreign selling 
agencies being strictly Japanese. The mines in Japan are not generally 
worked as joint-stock enterprises, but are mostly family properties in- 
herited by the present owners. A table showing the 1917 copper pro- 
duction of Japan indicates these facts. (See Table 49.) 

Because of labor conditions, abundant fuel near the mines and 
water transportation, Japanese copper production has increased rapidly 
in recent years. High prices and the adoption of modern methods of 
mining and smelting have been important contributing factors. There 
seems no reason to expect that Japan's production will decrease, but 
not enough is known of geological conditions to enable one to discuss the 
future outlook. The only mine whose reserves are known is the Beshi, 
which has reserves adequate for 100 years of production at the present 
rate, which is 10 per cent, of the Japanese output. The reserves at other 
mines are not developed far ahead, but must insure several years of con- 
tinued production at the present rate. 

The production and exports of Japanese copper in recent years are as 
follows (in terms of metric tons) : 



Year 


1912 


1913 


1914 


1915 


1916 


1917 


Production 


63,893 
30,000 


67,697 
42,000 


71,046 
45,500 


76,039 
59,500 


101,467 
62,000 


124,306 
72,000 


Exports 





254 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



£ 



% 

2* 

« d 

o » 
« a, 

PI 



Ph 

o b 

IP 

•< . 

OS <3 



I? 

o cj 



&3 

-1 

a; as 



3 W) 

O C-0 

- 2 m 

c s? ~ 



ft« 



• o 



O 13 « 

2 f m 

O O 

o ft a 



o 

8 


o 
o 
o 


o 

§ 


© 
o 

o 



.2 g 
« ft 
.- ft 



- 2 ° 

o 



^8 



H w 



<3 « 






02 

8-2 

8m 



tS3 .g 



S 2 

pq g 
2 O 



c« 3 PQ 



o < 

13 o 



S3 -1 



«« § m 

I 



o 
o 

'3 — 

91 



6« 



co ?? PQ 



pq 



6 tj 
0-3 



CD C 

o 
ft 
ft 



■3 o 

o ■ 
H 



COPPER 



255 





o ~ 




.;h e 




3 g 




S 1 




s 




<o ^ 




o §> . 




eo .8 +j 




<* e S. 




c^ •<* fi" 




"• ^ 9 




S=8 ° 


o 


O (jj 


o 


o gS 


o 


§/5s 


8 


° 2 3 


»> 


■* +i «fl 






<N 


<N 



•la 
I- 

•S >> 

a "3 



5 *: 



Since the high copper prices of 1916 there was a 
heavy importation of Chinese copper coins into Japan. 
In 1917 one concern alone had contracted for 200,000 
tons of such coins, which contain about 85 per cent, 
copper, and the rate of importation at that time 
would mean 60,000 tons refined copper a year from 
this secondary source. This development has enabled 
Japan to make heavy exports of copper. 

The collapse of Russia removed one of Japan's big 
copper markets. Japan will probably not be able 
profitably to produce a large exportable surplus of 
copper unless the price obtained is fairly high com- 
pared to quotations ruling in 1912 to 1914. Under 
normal conditions Japan will supply her own needs for 
copper with little or nothing to spare. 

KOREA (CHOSEN) 

The Seoul Mining Co. (Collbran and Bostwick) 
is producing from contact deposits, one 50 miles and 
the other 100 miles from a harbor. This American 
concern is a dominant trading and banking house in 
Korea and is working mines formerly operated by 
Koreans. The copper ores are sulphides between 
limestone and granite. Five hundred tons of 60 per 
cent, concentrates were shipped from Chosen to the 
United States in 1917. 

CHINA 



2 2 

■ S 

M O 

-*> c3 

* o 

GO fl 

2 "^ 



The present production of China is 2,000 tons a 
year, and the chief deposits are in Yunnan Province. 
A great many localities are reported to show copper 
ores, mainly cupriferous pyrite in very old schists, or 
in Permian basalt. The latter deposits are too small 
for modern methods. In the last hundred years, lack 
of wood to make charcoal has restricted output to a 
nominal amount. Small seams of native copper are 
highly esteemed by the natives. The ores are care- 
fully hand-picked, and the small-scale methods are 
wasteful. 

The Tungschuanfu mine, Yunnan, the chief mine 
in China, has a yearly output of about 1,000 tons of 
copper. The district has been worked for hundreds of 
years and probably is very rich. The ores, replacements in limestone 



4) ■/ 



a 4» 
o3 a 



256 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

and veins in shale, are 8 per cent, copper and the reserves are large. 
The Yaoki Kansu government smelter is a modern plant with a capacity 
of four tons of copper a day. 

There are several other mines, all controlled by the government. 
Outside engineers have reported favorably on some of them, but the 
government closely regulates copper mining in China because it affects 
currency and government profits on coinage of copper. There are also 
some copper mines worked with the contact iron deposits of China 
(formed by contact action of diorite) ; and deposits of malachite in Trias- 
sic sandstone are worked at several points. 

INDIA 

India is not a copper producer. The Rakha Hills mine of the Cape 
Copper Co. (see Cape Colony) has 400,000 tons of 4 per cent, copper ore 
developed and a smelter is being built. India is an enormous copper con- 
sumer, and it is surprising she has never been a producer. 

EUROPE 

Political and commercial control of much of the copper production of 
Europe is obviously uncertain in the extreme, as are any figures of pro- 
duction for the Central Powers and Russia. (See Table 49.) 

SPAIN, PORTUGAL, NORWAY AND SWEDEN 

Spain is the oldest and steadiest producer of copper in the world. 
The chief deposits are controlled by English capital and their developed 
reserves insure present production for 30 to 60 years. The copper is 
largely refined to finished form is England and enters the market there 
under various brands. The Rio Tinto is an enormous deposit worked 
by open pits. 

The copper deposits, chiefly massive cupriferous pyrite, in Norway and 
Sweden, are similar to those of Spain geologically as well as economically. 
Their commercial value depends not only on their copper content, but 
on the sulphur and iron recovered. In many cases the sulphur used in 
sulphuric acid manufacture is of greater money value than the recovered 
copper. Hence the exported copper from Spain, Portugal and Norway 
is in several forms: pyrite, matte, ingot copper from Norway and con- 
siderable cement copper or precipitates from Spain and Portugal. Pyrite 
is exported to England, the United States, and perhaps a little to France; 
the matte, ingot, etc., to various European countries. Sweden imports 
as well as produces pyrite. France, Italy and Russia produce consider- 
able pyrite and before the war France exported pyrite. Under normal 
conditions, the copper in all this pyrite is shipped back and forth over 



COPPER 



257 





CO 

M 

M 

o3 

a 

CO 




2 
3 
o 

<n CO 

o £ 

.«3 C8 

Is 

" co 
PI 










No statistics since 1914. 
60 years' reserves known 


OD 

° s 

■<* ft 

CO CO 

co"* 
«■* 

|'I 

fl ft 
O CQ 

T* CO 

S3 


Some English capital. 
French pyrite mines. 
Tin mines. 


to 

p? 


32 years' 
supply 
Very large 
Do 

Do 
Do 

Important 


.ft 

"3 

n 

g 

o 

o 


S 03 

-a * 

C3 O 


English 

Do 
Do 

Do 
Do 

Swedish 

Italian 
French 
English 


o 
O 

Pm 


Now entirely Ger- 
man 
Do 
Do 
Do 
Do 
Do 

Portuguese 

Spanish 
Do 

Do 
Do 

Norwegian 

Swedish 

Italian 
French 
English 


3 
a 

03 

a 


English 

Do 
Do 

Do 
Spanish 

H English and K 

Norwegian 
Swedish 

Italian 
French 
English 


Estimated 
output 
1918-1919 
(pounds) 
















5,000,000 

62,000,000 
12,000,000 

11,000,000 
3,000,000 














Esti- 
mated 
output 
1918- 

1919 
(metric 

tons) 


O OOOOO 
O OOOOO 

q © o o_ o o 
o" o" o" o" o" i-H 

CO rH i-H t-I rH 


71,000 
42,000 

18,000? 
19,000 

1,000 

3,000 

1,000 

250 


Output 

1916- 

1917 

(metric 
tons) 


O OOOOO 
O OOOOO 
O OOOOO 
O" o" O" o" O" rH 

CO i-H i-l rH rH 


71,000 
42,000 


18,500 
19,000 

1,000 

3,000 

1,000 

250 


( 


c3 2 

O M 
-. OJ 

CO ttco 

flOO 

Sis 
§-g & 

>>* 

a** 
o 


T 

"a 

a 

>> a 

a ci 

a 2 

u 

CO 




c 
a> 

hi 

(- 

1 
a) 

1 


a 
b 

c 

"9 

.2 
1 


c 

"8 

o 

PQ 

cc 

IE 

QJ 

a} 


:.2 

: p 

o 03 

■s a 

. 3 

o o 
g Ph 

m a 

<J 03 

. 03 

>> 'E 

■SJS 

3 3 

HPQ 




4-> 
CD 

2 

CO 

ES 

o 
Ph 

13 

k 

G 

CO 

o 

"3 

o 
Eh 


s 
b 

3 
£ 

o 

Ph 

C 
<S 

PI 

"3 

p 

OD 


Mason & Barry 

Rio Tinto 

Tharsis 

Misc. (United Alkali, Huelva, 

Miscellaneous (Calva, Los 


»0 

-2 
.ft 
03 

H 

00 
CO 
CO 

.2 

'a 
go 

3 
Ph 


-4J 

PI 
CO 

o 

(-( 

00 

ft 
o 

^< 

03 

jj 

o 

CQ 

>i 

03 
* 
(-. 
O 

ft 


a 

CO 
CO 
0Q 


CD 

_00 

"C 
G 

CO ct 

»-. £ 

CO " 

6 


CB 
CO 

G 
03 

fa 


T3 

G 
o3 
"5 
G 

w 





.2 •* 
.9 ft .-a 



•!i3g 

>> co o 'J3 
■£ u h a 

— . D 41 

o3 co ?£ _, 
a >> S 9 

o o ft 2 

V3 S 3 -S 

03 C3 « ■* 

G - «*-c *-> 

^ O «J 

■^ co a 

8511 

• S ,Q ^ co 

3 o co O 

£ % 'H 1( 

.G Q. 

:§■§!! 
o * oo a 

-G 5o k b 



^ s f 

e3 o o o 

rG -r» *» ^ 

s> u u o 



CO 



•3 a ft-g 

& § 2 £ 

ill 

6 O O 
" ft ft H 
33 M M r< 

< H W © 

- tS TO Z 



17 



258 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



Europe and can hardly be traced. The table shows the location of raw 
materials but not the place where marketable copper is produced. The 
chief imports and exports of pyrite are normally as follows : 

Table 51. — Normal Exports and Imports op Pyrite por Certain European 

Countries 



Exports from — 


Amount (tons) 


Imports to — 


Amount (tons) 


Spain 


1,500,000 
500,000 
250,000 


England 


1,050,000 


Norway 


Sweden 


100,000 


Portugal 


United States .... 
France 


1,000,000 
100,000 












Estimated total 


2,250,000 


2,250,000 



GERMANY 

Under existing conditions the present output of Germany can not be 
closely estimated. The figures in Table 49 are guesses based on the in- 
formation available. The Mansfeld deposits are clearly the most im- 
portant, and as they are in shales that extend over a large area, the re- 
serves must be considered large. The Mitterberg mine, owned by the 
Krupps, had a pre-war output of only 1,000 tons yearly. Several copper 
deposits in the Austrian Tyrol had a pre-war output of 1,000 tons 
annually. 

The chief source of copper in Germany during the war, however, must 
have been from conversion of articles containing copper which were in 
use before the war. It is doubtful if 10 per cent, of the yearly copper 
production of peace times was destroyed in use. Consequently, in all 
countries there is normally a big store of copper in the form of wire, 
brass, machine parts, etc. This is what Germany used during the war, 
and its replacement is essential to her industrial success in peace. 

RUSSIA 

The copper production of Russia was rapidly increasing before the 
war and reached a maximum in 1913. The ownership of the mines and 
refineries was largely English but in part French. Enough development 
had been done to indicate that Russia will probably be a large producer 
of copper when consistent industrial progress is possible. In 1918 the 
mines had been seized by workmen and operations were nearly or en- 
tirely suspended. The copper districts are all in the Urals, the Caucasus 
or Siberia. The Russian copper production (in long tons) has been as 
follows : 



1905 


1910 


1913 


1914 


1915 


.1916 


1917 


8,700 


22,310 


33,794 
(34,911) 


31,435 


25,472 

(27,295) 


20,557 


15,700 



COPPER 



259 



P 

o 

to 

H 

02 
H 

/ — s 

s a 

£ 9 
o 2 

An 

s 

Ph 
fc 
O 

Q 



(-1 

o3 

a 


Obtains gold as by-product. 
Ore hard to follow; excellent 
possibilities. 


Developing into a gold rather 

than a copper deposit. 
Massive pyrite ore. 






Mines at Khot Eli and Katar. 
Industrial & Metallurgical Co. 

of Caucasus. 
Mines at Tcherek and Keda- 

beck. 




Development companies, see 

below. 
1,000,000 low-grade ore also in 

reserves. 
Ore carries other metals. 






6 

CD 

B 

cu 
_G 

'3 
M 



3 





00 

fl 0)^- 

■n >■+» 

^ 5rt ^ 
oj S 0) 

aS« 
O £ ft 


»o 




CO 


CO 









• 10 oi 




££§" 

£g 


8 


CO* 


8 
00 > 

- °§ i 

: «o » 
: 82 S 
: "5" S? 

oj 





0" 

? 

CO 









co" 


; § 1 

; s s 

CO 10 




O oi 

25 a 


00 00 00 
00 00 00 

CO 1-1 IO CO lO »C 


O 
O 

00 


00 
00 

t> 00 

CO 






•* 

10 CO 

CO* 








00 


00 


<o 

OJ 
CN 
t>* 


a 



a 


00 00 00 
00 00 00 

O M H (O OO 
b^ "tf iH CO cf 


O 

8 

00" 



00 
10 10 

U5 <N~ r-* 


8 

CO 

OS 


b- CU ■* CO 
■* §. 


CO 


10* 


00 

M 


5 i 

CO , 


CO 

# 

•r 1 to ^3 

O > g 
.5 


03 -2 

'-So 00 So 

fe« Q« |« 


co w .B 

2 § 1 


OS 

5 000 

ap p QQfl 


■ 


>> 

a 

oj 

a 

a 






| 

,1 
cr 
> 


CO 

1 

c 
bt 

> 

pq 


t 
a 


> 
*~3 

e 

H 


s 

"a 

or 

a 

> 1 

c. 
1- 
a 
i> 


: > 


. T3 

:'a 

:9 

00 

1 

s 

■3 

.fl 
00 


0' 


M 
CD 

a 
a 

-fl 
3 ee 
03 S3 
O «1 


O 
O 
00 

e 
a 

£ 




• a 

• 3 
O 

. « 

>»^ 

-a "a 
§ s 

a B 
02 1^ 


t— 1 


c 
C 

h 

c 

i 

c 
.2 

a 

f 


• • fl 

• O 
'. "■*> 
. * 

• O 

: a 
: S 

: o 

43 

CO 

•s < 

s § 
<: p? 


1 

P 


•p 

DO 

5 


a 
"el 

M 
& 



P 



P 



A 


O 
P 


O 
P 




"08 
+2 

O 

CO 

1 

p 


03 I 

3 • 

lo 

3 A 



P 




03 
O 

00 

3 

GO 

03 
O 

6 


.3 

CD O 
5 P 


O 
P 


O 
P 



P 


c 

p 


*c3 
O 

a 

m 


CO 

O 

1 

V 

-C 
C5 

fl 

'8 

GO 

3 


.9 

00 

P3 

■"« 


fl 
ol 
M 

O 



o o o 

o o o 

,H 0) o o o 

^, >> o* CO* o* 



«£ 



S° M 03 

T3 



+j (-1 
fl « 

.9 a 
3 a 

a ° 

O 

u 

3 
oo 

fl 

CO 

Ol 

> 

M 

cw 

CQ 

0J 



cfl 



J* J* J 

o o *S 

fH (H 00 



WWW 



260 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Russia has always been in large part dependent on foreign copper 
and there was a tariff premium on domestic production. It is likely that 
ultimately Russia may more nearly be self-supporting as regards copper 
requirements, even if consumption increases greatly. Table 52 shows the 
important developed properties, their production in 1913 (maximum) 
and in 1915 (estimated), their developed ore reserves, and the nationality 
of original capital that made the developments possible. 

SUMMARY 

Copper, the red metal, is surpassed only by gold and silver in malle- 
ability and by silver alone in electrical conductivity. Next to iron it is 
industrially the most important of all metals, as its value per pound is 
much greater than that of lead or zinc, and the world requires and con- 
sumes much greater quantities of copper, lead, and zinc than of any 
other non-ferrous metals. 

The uses of copper are many, but the electrical industry is the largest 
consumer. Brass, bronze, and other copper alloys are second in import- 
ance. A considerable quantity of copper sheets, tubes and other wares 
are used outside of the electrical industry. Copper is used in coinage, 
and in China it is the money standard of the working population. 

The United States, producing a major part of the world's copper, 
has also been responsible for financing and developing more successful 
copper mines abroad than any other country. Success has been facili- 
tated by the presence in the Western Hemisphere of the world's chief 
copper deposits and also by the advances in mining, milling and metal- 
lurgy that have been in great measure the work of United States engi- 
neers. England and Japan control considerable copper production, but 
it is small compared to that controlled by the United States. 

In the consumption of copper Germany is a big factor. Because of 
this fact, German interests and international metal houses have in the 
past secured a considerable control over copper supplies through refining 
and selling contracts with mining companies. Such control is based 
entirely on refining and selling companies and does not extend to owner- 
ship of producing mines, and only to a small degree to ownership of 
smelters. 

Chile, Mexico, Canada, and the Belgian Congo should become of 
increasing importance as copper producers not only because of known 
reserves but, in the case of Canada and Mexico particularly, because 
of the likelihood of new and important discoveries. The position of the 
United States, including Alaska, should be maintained as at present, 
neither gaining nor losing as compared to the rest of the world. 



CHAPTER XV 

LEAD 

By Frederick B. Hyder 
USES OF LEAD 

Lead is used in the form of the metal, of alloys with other metals? 
and of various chemical compounds. As metal its chief uses are as pipe 
for water and corrosive solutions; for protective covering of electrical 
cables; as sheet lead for lining chambers for the manufacture of sul- 
phuric acid and vats for chemical manufacturing processes. In smelting, 
lead is used as a collector of other metals, particularly of gold and silver, 
from which it is later separated, now most generally by the use of zinc 
by the Parkes process of desilverization. 

Lead alloys readily with nearly all other metals in all proportions. 
Its alloys of industrial importance comprise type metal, bearing or bab- 
bitt metals, shot, solders, casting metals, some brasses, and the fusible 
alloys used for the protection of electrical apparatus and in automatic 
sprinklers for the protection of buildings against fire. Type metal, 
originally composed of 83 per cent, lead and 17 per cent, antimony, 
now often contains bismuth and sometimes a little copper and iron. An 
alloy of 9 parts lead, 2 antimony and 2 bismuth is used for stereotype 
plates. Less than 2 per cent, of arsenic is added to lead used to make 
shot to increase the hardness and sphericity of the product. Anti- 
mony also imparts the hardness essential to shrapnel, etc . Bearing metals 
comprise alloys of lead and antimony or these with copper, tin, and zinc. 
Antimony imparts to lead the property of expansion on solidification, 
essential to type metal and casting materials generally. Lead makes a 
brass that is soft and machines easily. Solder is commonly an alloy of 
lead and tin. The melting point varies with the proportions of these 
constituents and others, sometimes added for special purposes. The 
cheapest solder in general use is 30 per cent, tin and 70 per cent. lead. 
Solders seldom contain more than 50 per cent. tin. The addition of bis- 
muth, cadmium, or mercury lowers the melting below the boiling point 
of water. Fuses can thus be obtained which interrupt electric circuits 
at any desired temperature. 

The largest uses of lead compounds are as pigments. White lead or 
basic carbonate, 2 (Pb C0 3 ) Pb (OH) 2 , is the most extensively consumed, 
being used alone or mixed with zinc oxide and barytes. Red lead (Pb 3 4 ) 
is used for painting structural steel, as a pipe-joint cement, and in the 

261 



262 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

manufacture of glass. Litharge, another oxide, is used in assaying as a 
flux, in rubber manufacture, and in making glass. The acetate, carbon- 
ate and other chemical compounds are used in medicine. 

The relative amounts of lead consumed in the various uses in 1913 
were: In pigment, comprising white lead, red lead, litharge, and orange 
mineral, 38.0 per cent.; in alloys such as type metal, bearing metals, and 
solders, 29.7 per cent.; in pipe, 15.2 per cent.; in shot, 10.4 per cent.; 
and in sheets, 6.7 per cent. 

CHANGES IN PRACTICE 

The most revolutionary advance in ore dressing of recent years has 
been the development of oil-flotation, electromagnetic, and electrostatic 
processes for the concentration of lead-zinc ores. These processes per- 
mit the elimination of the objectionable zinc content of many ores and 
render it an additional credit of great importance in the exploitation of 
low-grade complex ores. 

The Murex process applied to the treatment of complex ores consists 
of coating the metallic sulphide minerals with oil and particles of magne- 
tite and pyrite roasted to magnetic sulphide, then separating them from 
the gangue by an electromagnetic machine. The Lyster preferential 
flotation of galena depends on the presence of various salts in the water 
used. In the Broken Hill mines these salts are present in the mine 
waters. After removal of galena the blende may be preferentially floated 
by the Bradford copper salt or Bradford hyposulphite or sulphurous acid 
processes. 

In the reduction of lead ores, there are improvements constantly 
being made. These are chiefly in the mechanical appliances, such as 
mechanical ore hearths and continuous roasting machinery, such as the 
Dwight-Lloyd, and in details of furnace construction and the handling of 
materials, rather than in processes or recognized principles. Various 
new processes have been proposed, most of which are intended to make 
available the ores now of too low grade, or the complex ores of lead and 
zinc whose separation is difficult or commercially impracticable. These 
processes are now the subject of experiment, with some indications that 
successful applications may be found. One process involves the volatili- 
zation by chloridizing roast of sulphide ores, the precipitation of the lead 
chloride fume by Cottrell electric precipitation, and smelting the fume 
with lime. At least 50 per cent, of the chlorine is recovered as calcium 
chloride, which can be substituted for salt in the further , operations. 
With oxidized ores it is proposed to dissolve the lead by means of brine 
acidified with sulphuric acid and to precipitate metal sponge by elec- 
trolysis. 

Gillies's process consists in roasting the complex sulphides to a low 
sulphur content, mixing with carbonaceous matter, distilling in excess 
of air, and volatilizing, the lead, zinc, bismuth, cadmium, arsenic, etc.. 



LEAD 263 

as oxides and sulphates, the lead in form of sulphate, the zinc chiefly as 
oxide. The fume is caught and digested with a solution of ZnS04 and 
free H 2 S0 4 from the electrolytic vats; PbS0 4 remains, which can be used 
as pigment or smelted. The ZnS0 4 solution is electrolyzed, in the 
presence of gum arabic in the electrolyte, rendering the zinc deposit 
more dense. 

The Ganlin process, reported successful on Burma zinc-lead middlings, 
consists in feeding the dry pulverized ore into a molten bath of Zn and 
NaCl in equal parts. Zinc replaces lead and silver, which are dissolved 
as chlorides, ZnS being precipitated. When this reaction is complete 
the lead and silver are precipitated as metals by granulated spelter added 
to the amount of 35 per cent, of their weight, the dissolved spelter form- 
ing ZnCl 2 . The silver-bearing lead is tapped off, the residue granulated, 
the salts leached with water, and the zinc-bearing gangue freed from lead 
shot by tabling, leaving a zinc ore free from lead. 

Electrolytic refining has been one of the greatest advances in the 
industry; it makes possible the preparation of pure lead from any source 
and the recovery of numerous by-product metals. 

GEOLOGICAL OCCURRENCE 

Zinc and lead are commonly associated in mineral deposits, sometimes 
intimately mixed, sometimes segregated enough so that one metal pre- 
dominates, but seldom free entirely one from the other. The geological 
and geographical distribution of the two metals is, therefore, nearly 
identical. Galena is the most common and important of the lead min- 
erals. Cerussite, anglesite and pyromorphite usually result from the 
oxidation of galena, the sulphate being usually an intermediate state in 
the oxidation to the carbonate. Pyromorphite and wulfenite are of 
minor importance. Jamesonite is more an ore of antimony than of 
lead. Sphalerite (zinc blende) weathers more readily than galena, and 
therefore zinc in many places is carried below water level more rapidly 
and completely than lead. For this reason some mines change from pre- 
dominantly lead mines to zinc mines with greater depth. Apart from the 
effect of such secondary enrichment, this change is often encountered in 
primary ores with increase in depth. 

Lead ores occur in deposits of several distinct genetic types. Many 
deposits lie at shallow depth in sedimentary rocks, without apparent 
connection with igneous rocks, occurring as tabular replacements of 
receptive beds. In regions of slightly disturbed strata the ore shoots 
tend to follow pitching troughs. Ores of this type usually contain lead 
(galena), zinc (sphalerite), and iron (pyrite) minerals; many contain 
manganese and cadmium; some contain cobalt and nickel; but few carry 
gold, silver, copper, or antimony. Deposits of this type are of world- 
wide distribution, and many are extensive and commercially important. 
The greater purity of the ore and the simplicity of treatment (particu- 



264 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



larly for the ores in the oxidized zones), caused them to be exploited 
first and most extensively, and to dominate formerly the world pro- 
duction of lead. To this type belong, with many others, the deposits of 
the Mississippi Valley and Silesia, that together yielded 15 per cent, of 
the world's production in 1913. 

Other important deposits are closely associated with igneous rocks, 
and are characterized by complex ores. They comprise vein deposits, 
disseminated replacements of igneous rocks, and silver-lead replacements 
in limestone. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The chief lead-ore deposits of the world are situated in the countries 
that are listed below in the order of their importance in 1913. 

Recoverable Lead Content of the Lead Ores of the World Produced 

in 1913 1 



Rank 



Country 



Short tons 



Metric tons 



Percentage of 

world's total 

production 



1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 
23. 
24. 
25. 
26. 
27. 



United States 

Australia 

Spain 

Germany 

Mexico 

Tunis 

Italy 

Canada 

Austria 

Great Britain 

Greece 

Turkey-in- Asia 

China 

German S. W. Africa. 

Algeria 

France 

India (Burma) 

Peru 

Japan 

Egypt 

Russia 

Bulgaria 

Sweden 

Hungary 

Bolivia 

Portugal 

Rhodesia 



484,880 

267,169 

209,193 

79,344 

68,343 

31,076 

24,905 

24,244 

22,591 

20,277 

19,836 

15,428 

13,995 

13,224 

12,893 

9,587 

6,502 

4,331 

4,143 

3,196 

3,083 

2,204 

2,094 

1,256 

1,102 

661 

361 



440,000 

242,440 

189,830 

72,000 

62,000 

28,200 

22,600 

22,000 

20,500 

18,400 

18,000 

14,000 

12,700 

12,000 

11,700 

8,700 

5,900 

3,930 

3,760 

2,900 

2,800 

2,000 

1,900 

1,140 

1,000 

600 

330 



36.0 
19.8 
16.4 

5.9 

5.1 

2.3 

1.8 

1, 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 



1.0 

1.0 
0.7 
0.5 
0.3 
0.3 
0.2 
0.2 
0.2 
0.2 
0.1 
0.1 



Total 1,345,918 1,221,390 100.0 



Adapted from compilations by Adolph Knopf, of the XJ. S. Geological Survey. 



LEAD 265 

The four districts now of pre-eminent importance are, in order, Broken 
Hill in New South Wales, Australia; southeastern Spain; southeastern 
Missouri and Coeur d'Alene, in Idaho: which are credited respectively 
with about 19, 16, 12 and 10 per cent, of the world's production in 1913. 

United States. — The chief producing regions and their percentage of 
the domestic lead production in 1915 are as follows: 

Region Percentage of total 

domestic production 

Southeastern Missouri 33 

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 27 

Utah 18 

Joplin (in Mo., Kans., Ark., and Okla.) 6 

Colorado 5 

As regards the types of ores and the character of the lead produced, 
there are two metallographic provinces : the Mississippi Valley, including 
southeastern Missouri and Joplin, and the minor district of Wisconsin, 
producing as soft lead 39 to 45 per cent, of the total domestic production ; 
and the Western province, in which the ores are complex, carrying pre- 
cious metals and often antimony and copper. All of the output from 
the Western province, but only a part of the soft lead, is desilverized. 

Ninety per cent, of the ore mined in southeastern Missouri comes from 
St. Francois and Madison counties. The ore deposits contain predomi- 
nantly galena, and are disseminated in Cambrian limestone over large 
areas at depths of 100 to 550 feet. Copper, nickel, and cobalt occur in 
the Madison County ores, and copper concentrates are separated and 
shipped by nearly all the companies in the region. The principal operat- 
ing companies, with the names of companies absorbed by them or now 
subsidiaries, shown in parenthesis, are: St. Joseph Lead Co. (Doe Run 
Lead Co.), Federal Lead Co., National Lead Co. (St. Louis Smelting & 
Refining Co.), Desloge Consolidated Lead Co., Baker Lead Co. (St. 
Francois Lead Co.), Boston Elvins Lead Co., Missouri Metals Co. (Mine 
La Motte Co.), and Missouri Cobalt Co. (North American Lead Co.). 
The St. Joseph Lead Co. is normally the second largest lead-producing 
company in the United States. Its holdings have a conservatively esti- 
mated life of 20 years, at a rate of production of 2,000,000 tons of ore, or 
80,000 short tons of lead, per annum. In 1917 this company mined 
2,485,431 tons of ore, nearly half the total output of the region. The 
Federal Lead Co., a subsidiary of the American Smelting & Refining Co., is 
the next largest producing company in the region. In 1915 it mined and 
milled 1,355,000 tons of ore. The National Lead Co., through its subsid- 
iary, the St. Louis Smelting & Refining Co., works three mines near Flat 
River and has a concentration plant with a daily capacity of 2,400 tons. 
Its smelter at Collinsville treats its own concentrates, as well as those of 
the Baker Lead Co. and the Boston Elvins Lead Co. The Desloge Con- 



266 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

solidated Lead Co. operates three mines and a mill of 1,700 tons' daily 
capacity; its ores are smelted by the Federal Lead Co. The Missouri 
Metals Co. operates the Mine La Motte and a mill treating 700,000 tons 
annually at the 1917 rate. In 1915 it was estimated that this mine 
could produce 3,000,000 tons of ore annually for sixty years. 

In the Joplin region, which is chiefly in Missouri but also includes ad- 
jacent areas in Kansas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, the ores lie at three 
horizons in horizontal limestone and chert beds of Lower Carboniferous 
age. At the upper horizon, usually 100 to 150 feet below the surface, 
the ore occurs in clayey chert breccias. The ore bodies are characteris- 
tically "runs" up to 300 feet wide, and continuous in one horizon for 
several hundred feet and, rarely, for more than a mile. The middle hori- 
zon, or " sheet ground," at a depth of 150 to 300 feet usually ranges from 
6 to 15 feet in thickness. The ore, mixed galena and blende, cements 
brecciated chert. The third and lowest horizon, in sandy limestones, 
contains disseminated ores mainly, and as yet is little exploited. In 
1915, about 4,000,000 tons of ore was mined from the upper horizon, and 
6,500,000 tons from the middle horizon or "sheet ground." The average 
lead content of the ore as mined was about 0.25 per cent. Most of the 
lead concentrates are sold in open market. The Webb City district is 
the most important in the Joplin region, and the American Zinc, Lead 
& Smelting Co. is the largest galena producer. Most of the output is by 
lessees and small operators. The Joplin district ranks second in impor- 
tance. The A. W. C. Mining Co. is the largest miner of "sheet ground." 
The Ravenswood and Ritz mines of the United States Smelting, Refining 
& Mining Co., in Jasper County, produce 218,000 tons of ore annually. 
The concentrates of this region are chiefly smelted by the plants of the 
Eagle-Picher Lead Co. at Galena, Kansas; Joplin, Missouri; Webb 
City, Missouri; and by the Granby Mining & Smelting Co. at Granby, 
Missouri. 

The Coeur d'Alene region is in Shoshone County, Idaho. The de- 
posits are metasomatic veins formed by replacement of siliceous sedimen- 
tary rocks along zones of Assuring, and carry mainly galena and siderite 
with some pyrite and sphalerite. In 1915 the crude ore shipments 
amounted to 95,169 tons with a lead content of 35,271 short tons. The 
remainder of the ore, or nearly 96 per cent, of the total, is concentrated to 
carry about 50 per cent. lead. The 1915 yield of concentrates of all 
kinds amounted to 329,530 tons, having a lead content of 128,928 short 
tons, making the total lead content of crude and concentrate shipments 
164,199 short tons. The mining companies form three groups, deter- 
mined chiefly by their relations or affiliations with the smelters, as fol- 
lows: The Bunker Hill group, comprising the Bunker Hill & Sullivan 
Mining & Concentrating Co., and the Hecla Mining Co.; the Day group, 
comprising the Tamarack & Custer Mining Co., the Amazon-Man- 



LEAD 267 

hattan mine, and the Hercules Mining Co. ; and the American Smelting 
& Refining group, comprising the Federal Mining & Smelting Co. and 
various small producers. 

The mines of the Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating 
Co. had reserves on December 31, 1917, of 3,457,634 tons. The ore bodies 
are replacements of quartzite. This company's production in 1917 was 
493,030 tons of ore, the metallic lead recovered by smelting being 46,996 
tons. The Bunker Hill & Sullivan Co., while still shipping its own ores 
to the Helena plant of the American Smelting & Refining Co., built its 
own smelter at Kellogg, Idaho, where it smelts the Hecla and other ores. 
The Day family controls the Hercules, and Tamarack & Custer com- 
panies, the Northport smelter at Northport, Washington (now closed 
down), and the Pennsylvania Smelting & Refining Co. at Pittsburgh, 
Pa. The 1916 shipments of the Hercules had a lead content of about 
22,000 tons. Both. companies are close corporations and make public 
little information as to their operations. The Tamarack & Custer 
probably has large reserves of ore averaging about 9 per cent, lead; 
it has produced as much as 3,000 tons of shipping ore and concentrates per 
month. The Federal Mining & Smelting Co. operates several mines, 
One-sixth of the stock is owned by the American Smelters Securities Co. 
and all its silver-lead ores and concentrates are contracted to the Ameri- 
can Smelting & Refining Co. The Success Mining Co., working two 
mines, has been an important producer. The Interstate-Callahan has 
been chiefly a zinc producer but ships some lead concentrates to the Salida 
plant of the Ohio & Colorado Smelting Co. 

The lead production of Utah is chiefly from the Park City, Bingham 
Canyon, and Tintic districts. The ores, composed of galena, tetrahe- 
drite and pyrite, and in places sphalerite, with their oxidized derivatives, 
occur in lodes cutting limestones, sandstones and shales, chiefly of Car- 
boniferous age, and also as bedded deposits in limestone. Both types are 
frequently associated with porphyry and form irregular ore bodies in 
contact-metamorphosed limestone. In many mines copper is an impor- 
tant constituent of the ores and the silver content is always important. 

The production of Colorado in 1917 comprised 33,995 short tons of 
lead, of which 9,293 short tons came from the Leadville district in Lake 
County, 10,412 short tons from the San Juan district in San Juan, San 
Miguel and Ouray counties, and 6,816 tons from the Aspen district in 
Pitkin County. The Leadville deposits are in the Mosquito range. 
The chief producing companies are the Iron Silver Mining Co., the Yak 
Mining, Milling & Tunnel Co. and its subsidiary, the Leadville Explora- 
tion & Mining Co.; the Western Mining Co.; the Downtown Mines Co.; 
the Ibex Mining Co. ; and the United States Smelting, Refining & Mining 
Co. The Yak Mining, Milling & Tunnel Co., and the Western Mining 
Co. are subsidiaries of the American Smelting & Refining Co. In the 



268 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

San Juan district, the principal producers are the Liberty Bell; Smuggler- 
Union; Tomboy; Black Bear; Iowa-Gold Tiger; Dives; Shenandoah; 
and Silver Lake mines. The veins penetrate all the clastic and igneous 
rocks of this region, and the ores are exceedingly complex. In Pitkin 
County, the Smuggler Leasing Co. operates most of the producing mines 
at Aspen. The ores are peculiarly free from other metals than lead, 
antimony, and silver. 

Australia. — The lead resources of the Commonwealth of Australia 
are chiefly in New South Wales, Western Australia, Tasmania, and 
Queensland. New South Wales has been the chief producer in the past, 
but the Tasmanian deposits are now being rapidly developed and equip- 
ped for production. 

The most important source of ore in New South Wales is the great 
Broken Hill lode, situated in the arid Barrier Ranges at an elevation of 
about 1,000 feet above sea level. The lode ranges in width from a few 
inches to 400 feet and has been worked over a distance of three miles. 
Mining began in 1884 and now is conducted by several mining companies 
which, in the order of the importance of their production and ore reserves, 
are: Broken Hill South Silver Mining Co.; Broken Hill North Mining 
Co.; Zinc Corporation; Sulphide Corporation; British Broken Hill Pro- 
prietary Co.; Broken Hill Proprietary Co.; Broken Hill Proprietary Co., 
Block 10; and Broken Hill Proprietary Co., Block 14. 

Although the deepest workings are 1,815 feet deep, the ore still con- 
tinues downward. For many years the estimated ore reserves of all the 
mines have approximated 12,000,000 tons. The upper part of the lode 
consisted of a gossan 20 to 100 feet wide of siliceous and manganiferous 
limonite, hematite, and kaolin. Below the gossan were great masses of 
cerussite, anglesite, cuprite, and malachite, with abundant cerargyrite, 
embolite, and iodyrite. Between the oxidized and primary sulphide ores 
was a thin zone of secondary sulphides. The early operations in the 
district were conducted for the purpose of obtaining lead ores, and im- 
mense dumps were accumulated of zinc-bearing ores sorted out or zinc- 
bearing tailings left after concentration of the lead ores. In 1903 these 
dumps were estimated at 5,687,400 tons, carrying 18.6 per cent. zinc. 
With the development of a demand for zinc sulphide ores and of oil- 
flotation methods of separation and concentration, these dumps have been 
important sources of zinc. There are two classes of sulphide ores, dis- 
tinguished as silicate gangue ore, and calcite gangue ore. The sulphide 
ores are a close mixture of galena and zinc blende, carrying silver. The 
silicate gangue ore bodies carry rhodonite, garnet, and quartz; and are 
richer in zinc and silver than those with calcite gangue. 

The Broken Hill South Silver Mining Co. has ore reserves estimated 
at 3,350,000 tons and is the largest ore producer in the field. Broken 
Hill North, Broken Hill South, Amalgamated Zinc (De Bavay), Zinc 



LEAD 269 

Corporation, and Barrier South, Ltd., are controlled by the Hoover- 
Govett-Bailliau group of British and Australian capitalists. 

The Amalgamated Zinc Co. in 1913 treated 498,289 tons of tailings 
containing 17.1 per cent, zinc, 3.7 per cent, lead, and 4.4 ounces silver, 
obtaining 140,098 tons zinc concentrates carrying zinc. 48.9 per cent., 
lead 5.9 per cent., and silver 8.5 ounces per ton. The Zinc Corporation, 
a company formed by Bewick, Moreing & Co., has ore reserves esti- 
mated at 1,504,211 tons, averaging 14.8 per cent, lead, 9.2 per cent, zinc, 
and 2.5 ounces of silver per ton. 

The largest lead-producing district of Tasmania is on the West Coast, 
where the largest producers, the Hercules of the Dundas group and the 
Primrose and Tasmanian copper mines of the Rosebery company 
group, are now controlled by the Mount Read-Rosebery Co., affiliated 
with the Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Co., Ltd. The deposits con- 
tain complex sulphide ores, the reserves being estimated by the state 
geological staff at 1,272,500 tons, averaging 29.79 per cent, zinc, 8.89 per 
cent, lead, 12.16 ounces of silver, and 0.17 ounces gold per ton. This 
estimate has since been revised and made more conservative. 

In 1913 Western Australia produced 26,589 long tons of lead ore and 
125 tons of silver-lead ore, almost wholly from the Northampton district 
on the West Coast. The only company working on a large scale is the 
Fremantle Trading & Smelting Co., operating the Baddera and Narra 
Tarra mines and, formerly, a smelter at Fremantle. The Chillagoe 
district is the largest producer in Queensland, its output amounting 
to 2,550 long tons of pig lead in 1913, chiefly from the Girofla mine of 
the Mungana company, but in part from lead-copper concentrates. 
The Chillagoe operated a small smelter. The total pig lead production 
of Queensland was 3,603 long tons in 1913. 

Spain. — Spain yielded in 1913, 314,369 short tons of lead concentrates, 
from which were smelted 189,559 tons of pig lead. In 1915 only 1,010 
short tons of ore or concentrates was exported, and 161,912 short tons of 
desilverized lead was exported, mostly to England. Over 90 per cent, 
of the production of ore came from the provinces of Jaen, Murcia, Cor- 
doba, and Ciudad Real. In 1913 the Province of Almeria occupied fourth 
place, but its mines are now nearly exhausted. These provinces are in 
the southeastern part of Spain and cover the Sierra Morena and Sierra 
Nevada mountain ranges. 

In the Province of Jaen are two principal districts — the Linares- 
Santa-Elena and the La Carolina. Many years ago Linares was the 
greatest lead-producing district in the world. The veins cut granite and 
thin overlying sandstone and are very narrow. The Arrayanes, a state- 
owned mine, has been exploited over a length of two and a half miles 
and to 1,500 feet in depth. The gangue is granite, quartz and calcite. 
Iron and copper pyrites and sphalerite are present, but a 79 per cent. 



270 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

lead concentrate is easily made. The deepest mine is 1,800 ft. deep and 
is still in rich ore. In the Santa Elena vicinity, the San Fernando, 
Ojo Vecino, and Santa Ana mines are owned locally. The Caridad is 
owned by French capital and the Santa Susanna by a Belgian concern, 
the Compagnie Real Asturienne des Mines. In La Carolina district the 
nearly vertical lodes cut Silurian quartzites and Cambrian and Silurian 
slates. The ore attains a greater width than in the veins of the Linares 
district. The Nuevo Centenillo mine (English owned) produces 27,000 
short tons of concentrates annually. The great Guindo lode runs through 
six mines, two of which are owned by Spanish companies, and three by 
the Guindo Co., a German-Spanish corporation having an output 
of 27,000 short tons of concentrates yearly. The Castillo La Vieja, 
owned by a French company, has a yearly output of 20,000 tons of 
marketable ore. 

In the Province of Murcia the Mazarron and Cartagena districts 
are important. Most of the veins are nearly vertical but many have 
spurs or branches forming lenticular and bedded deposits in the sedimen- 
taries. This district extends southwestward along the coast from Cabo 
de Palos a few miles north of Cartagena. The production of this province 
has been steadily decreasing. 

In the Province of Cordoba (district of Posadas) many silver-lead- 
zinc mines were worked by the Romans and are still profitable. Near 
Alcaracejos are the mines of Anglo- Vask and Penarroya, the latter owned 
by a French company of the same name. 

The development of the lead ores in the Province of Ciudad Real 
has been retarded by lack of transportation facilities. The best known 
district is that of El Hoyo-San Lorenzo, which in 1915 had risen to 
fourth place among the lead-producing districts of Spain. 

Germany. — In imperial Germany the lead-producing districts in the 
order of their importance were as follows : Upper Silesia, Rhenish Prussia, 
Westphalia, Saxony, Hanover, and Nassau. Rhenish Prussia and West- 
phalia are usually grouped together as one metallographic province. 
At Gladbach, east of Cologne in Rhenish Prussia, are ore deposits lying 
in troughs and basins in limestone. The ore is smithsonite and galena 
mixed with shale. The chief deposits of Westphalia are at Iserlohn and 
Brilon. At Iserlohn ores containing calamine, galena, and blende are 
found in irregular pockets. The deposits of Brilon are similar, but 
most of the ore is found in crevices in the limestone. Rhenish 
Prussia and Westphalia are the source of about one-third the German 
production of lead. 

The greater part of Upper Silesia lay within the boundaries of Ger- 
many in 1914, although formerly part of the kingdom of Poland, the 
population being still predominantly Polish; but portions were included 
in the old empires of Russia and Austria. The pre-war production of 



LEAD 271 

lead ores from Russian Poland was entirely from this metallographic prov- 
ince. The deposits, which contain lead and zinc together, lie in Triassic 
beds that overlie Carboniferous rocks carrying important seams of coal. 
This juxtaposition of ore and fuel furnish an ideal basis for the great 
smelting industry that developed locally, for the conditions permit 
smelting of low-grade ores. 

The historic mines at Freiberg, in Saxony (Erzgebirge) yield a small 
quantity of blende in connection with the concentration of galena ores 
from a remarkable series of intersecting veins, which number more than 
900, although few are more than 2 feet thick. They have been worked 
to a depth of 2,100 feet. More than 10 per cent, of the lead produc- 
tion of Germany is derived from Saxony. These mines are owned 
and operated by the Saxon government, which also owns the smelting 
plants. 

Lead predominates over zinc in the ores of the Upper Harz, in Hanover. 
These ores occur in veins and zones in slates of Devonian and Lower 
Carboniferous age. These mines are worked by the Prussian Department 
of Mines, which also operates two smelting plants, the output being about 
10 per cent, of the total German output. In Nassau, in the valley of 
the Lahn, lead ores are produced as a by-product, with zinc blende 
concentrates. 

Mexico. — In Mexico lead ores are mined in several states, the more 
important being Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Sonora, 
San Luis Potosi, and Zacatecas. In many districts during a considerable 
part of the past eight years work has been intermittent and occasionally 
suspended for long periods. 

The Santa Eulalia district in Chihuahua is largely owned by American 
companies, including the American Smelting & Refining Co., operating 
the Mina Vieja, Sin Nombre, Velarderia, San Antonio and Santo Domingo 
mines; and El Potosi Mining Co., operating the mines of the same name. 
The San Toy is under lease to the American Metal Co., now purged of 
German interests. The Santa Eulalia Mining Co. belongs to the Hearst 
estate. The Buena Tierra Mining Co. is a British concern. The mines 
of the Santa Barbara and Parral districts are also largely under American 
control, among many others being the Montezuma Lead Mining Co. of 
the R. S. Towne interests, Granadena Mining Co., American Smelters 
Securities Co. and American Zinc Extraction Co. The American 
Smelters Securities Co. operates the Tecolotes, Montezuma, San Diego, 
Guadalupe and Alfarena mines. The San Francisco mines are owned by 
British capital. In the San Isidro district the Calera, Prieta and Buena 
Vista mines are operated by the American Smelting & Refining Co. 
The Lago mine is operated by C. M. de Las Plomosas (French). In the 
Parado district are mines of the Compania Minera Aurora y Anexas, 
controlled by the Madero family (Mexican). Other Chihuahua mines 



272 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

of the American Smelting & Refining Co. are Orizaba and La Union at 
Magistral, the Jibosa at Dolores, La Luz and Parcionera at Cordera, the 
Veta Grande and Veta Colorado. 

The largest operators in the state of Durango are the American Smel- 
ters Securities Co. at Velardefla and the Cia. Minera de Pefloles at 
Mapimi, both now American since the selling of the German-held stock 
of the American Metals Co. by the Alien Property Custodian. 

In Sonora, the Carnegie Liead & Zinc Co. worked a mine near Cananea, 
during the war, but the best part of the deposit is now depleted. 

The Tiro General mines, in San Luis Potosi, belong to the American 
Smelting & Refining Co. 

The Cabrilla and Paloma mines, in the Cabrillas district in Coahuila, 
are owned by the Compania Minera de Pefloles, controlled by the Ameri- 
can Metal Co. The Sierra Mojada district is dominated by American 
companies, the principal mines being owned by the Consolidated Kansas 
City Smelting & Refining Co., a subsidiary of the American Smelting & 
Refining Co. The Boquillas de Carmen mine has been acquired by an 
American company. 

In the state of Nueva Leon, deposits lying within a radius of 50 miles 
of Monterrey, at Villadama, Vallecillo, Ladera Occidental de Minas 
Viejas, etc., have been exploited by German and American companies, in- 
cluding the Compania Metalurgica Mexicana (American) , Joplin-Mexican 
Mining Co. (American), and the Metallgesellschaft (German). 

Other Countries. — The output of lead ore in Tunis in 1913, almost 
wholly by French companies, was 56,072 metric tons. It is all exported. 

Practically all the output of lead ore in Italy is derived from the Ingle- 
sias district of Sardinia, which in 1915 produced 40,829 metric tons of ore 
averaging 55 per cent, lead, out of a total national production of 41,590 
metric tons. The principal operators are the Monteponi and Pertusola 
companies, the former Italian, the latter English. The remainder of 
the ore comes from the provinces of Bergamo, Brescia Cuneo, and Gros- 
seto, and the operating companies are the English Crown Spelter Co. 
(English), and the Societa Austro-Belga and Societe de la Vieille 
Montagne (Belgian). 

In Czechoslovakia, the most important district is that of Przibram, in 
Bohemia. Rich lead ores were once mined at Mies, but the district is 
now exhausted. The district of Joachimsthal was for centuries an 
important producer. 

In German- Austria are the silver-lead mining districts of Schneeberg, 
in Tyrol, and Raibl, in Upper Carinthia. In both districts the mines 
were before the war owned and operated by the Austrian state. Miess, 
in Carinthia, is one of the chief sources of ore in recent years. 

The lead mines of Great Britain in 1916 produced 17,083 tons of 
dressed lead ore. The largest operator is the Weardale Lead Co., operat- 



LEAD 273 

ing the Boltsburn and Stanhopeburn mines and smelting its own and some 
custom ores. 

In Greece the only important lead deposit is that of Laurium, which 
was worked on a large scale in ancient times. It is now controlled and 
operated by a French company, the Compagnie Frangaise des Mines 
de Laurium. 

The lead production of Canada is chiefly from British Columbia, the 
most important producers being in the Slocan district. The largest 
operator is the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Co. of Canada, Ltd., 
proprietor also of the Trail smelter. This company operates the Sullivan 
and other mines and produced during the year ended September 30, 1917, 
29,542 tons of lead ore from the Sullivan mine, and 1,100 to 1,500 tons 
from several others. The Sullivan mine has been reported to have re- 
serves of 3,500,000 tons of galena-sphalerite ore. Numerous smaller 
properties in the same district ship ore to the Trail smelter, which pro- 
duced some 22,000 tons of lead during the year ended September 30, 1917. 

The most important lead-silver mines of Asiatic Turkey are those at 
Hodsha Gernish (Balia), belonging to the Societe des Mines de Baiia- 
Kara-Aidin (French), which yield about 12,000 tons of lead annually. 
There is a state-owned mine at Bulgardagh producing lead, gold, and 
silver. The English company, Asia Minor Mining Co., produces about 
3,000 tons of ore annually. 

In China the ten lead mines in the Province of Hunan are controlled 
by Chinese. The Wah Chang Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd., operates the 
Tien For Tai mines. The Shui-Ko-Shan mine, controlled by the Hunan 
Mining Board, from a deposit in limestone, produced in 1913, 51,561 
net tons of ore, which yielded 3,762 tons of lead concentrates and 12,275 
tons of zinc concentrates. Since 1913 the production has been increased, 
but the possibilities of the deposit are limited. The Japanese have 
endeavored to secure control of this mine, but without success. The 
pig-lead output of China is chiefly consumed in the country. The only 
modern lead smelter is at Changsha and is owned by Japanese. 

The lead production of Southwest Africa (formerly German) has been 
derived chiefly from the Tsumeb deposit in the Grootfontein district in 
the Otavi Mountains. The ores exported in the fiscal year 1913-14 
amounted to 48,000 long tons, averaging 13 per cent, copper, 25 per cent, 
lead, and 7.7 ounces silver. The ore is a coarsely crystalline aggregate 
of argentiferous galena and chalcocite with minor amounts of other 
minerals. The Otavi Mines & Railway Co. owns and operates this 
mine, the ore having been exported in 1913-14 to the United States for 
smelting. 

In 1913 all the lead-ore production of Algeria was from the Depart- 
ment of Constantine, and amounted to 21,442 tons. Practically the 
whole production was by French companies. 

18 



274 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Lead ore is produced in several scattered districts in France, chiefly 
in the south. Among the mines are the Chaliac et Chassezac (Ardeche) 
mines of the Societe Metallurgique et Mini ere des Cevennes, producing 
2,200 metric tons in 1913; the mines of the Societe Civile des Mines 
des Malines; La Londe mine of the Societe des Mines des Bormettes; 
that of the Societe des Mines de Bleymard, producing 2,470 tons of 
galena ore in 1913; and the Pierrefitte (Haute Pyrenees), Peybrune, 
and Bulard de Sentein-Saint Lary (Ariege) mines. All of these 
appear to be French companies, except the Pierrefitte, which is English 
controlled. 

In Burma, the chief deposits are those of the Bawdwin mines, in the 
Northern Shan States (Burma) , now connected with the Burma Railway 
from Rangoon. The ore bodies of present interest are nearly vertical 
shoots in a feldspathic grit (rhyolitic tuff or silicifiedrhyolite) and rhyolite 
series. The Chinaman and the smaller Shan ore body are believed to 
have been one, though now separated by faulting. Estimated reserves on 
December 31, 1917, were 4,033,000 tons of lead-zinc ore assaying 24.7 
ounces of silver, 27.4 per cent, lead, 19.1 per cent, zinc, and 0.4 per cent, 
copper; and 105,000 tons of copper-silver ore assaying 21.0 ounces of 
silver, 19.9 per cent, lead, 8.8 per cent, zinc, and 8.9 per cent, copper. 
Since then development has considerably increased these reserves. 
In addition there is estimated to be 1,600,000 tons of low-grade ore 
averaging 5.1 ounces of silver, 7.5 per cent, lead, 4.8 per cent, zinc, and 
€.2 per cent, copper per ton, with excellent prospects of larger develop- 
ments. A large tonnage of gossan outcrop ore containing 4 or 5 ounces 
silver, 4 to 5 per cent, lead, and a little zinc is cheaply mined and available 
as siliceous flux. The essential constituents of the ores are galena 
and sphalerite with a little pyrite and chalcopyrite. All of the ore is 
argentiferous. 

The lead and zinc concentrates are available for the customary 
methods of smelting. A zinc-distilling and sulphuric acid plant is being 
constructed at Sakchi, with the aid of the Indian government, to treat the 
table zinc concentrates. Its initial capacity of 25,000 tons of concen- 
trates is expected to be increased to 75,000 tons. The company operates 
a lead smelter at Nam-Tu, 11 miles from the mines, using a mixture of ore 
and ancient slags. Treatment of the middlings by the Ganlin process is 
proposed and a 100-ton unit is under construction at Avonmouth, 
England. The Bawdwin deposits may be expected to be an important 
factor in the world's production of lead in the immediate future. They 
are owned by the Burma Mines, Ltd., an English corporation represent- 
ing the R. Tilden Smith-Govett-Hoover interests and some American 
capital. 

The lead production of Peru is largely in the form of ancient high-lead 
slags from the Cerro de Pasco district, Department of Junin, shipped to 



LEAD 275 

plants of the American Smelting & Refining Co. in the United States. 
Lead occurs as a minor constituent of copper deposits. 

The domestic lead-ore deposits of Japan are all owned and operated 
by Japanese. During the war Australian concentrates and Chinese ore 
were imported and smelted, 10,666 short tons of the former, carrying 56 
per cent, lead, during the fiscal year 1915-16, and 9,829 short tons of 
the latter during the year 1916. The Fujita company, mining in Japan, 
Korea, and Formosa, produces 382 short tons of lead yearly. Its prin- 
cipal mine is the Kosaka, at the northern end of Hondo, the main island 
of Japan. The ore is a complex sulphide mixture of lead, zinc, iron, and 
copper minerals. The annual output of this mine is about 335 short tons 
of lead. The Mitsui Mining Co., Ltd., is the largest producer, its output 
in 1915 having been 3,561, and in 1916, 8,098 short tons of pig lead. This 
is derived wholly from the Kamioka zinc-lead mine, in the Province of 
Hida, on a contact metamorphic deposit in limestone lenses enclosed in 
Archean gneiss near a quartz porphyry contact. 

The only deposit exploited in Egypt is that known to the ancients, 
Gebel Rosas, now operated by the French company, Compagnie Frangaise 
des Mines de Laurium. As regards the former empire of Russia, the 
lead production of Russian Poland and the Caucasus Mountains is small, 
the output in 1913 coming chiefly from the Caucasus Mountains and 
being made by the Elboruss Co., and the Compagnie d'Alagir (Belgian). 

In the Altai Mountains, in Siberia, a zinc-lead-silver deposit, the Zmei- 
nogorsk, formerly belonging to the Russian Mining Corporation (British), 
is now owned by a Russian company, Altai Mines, Ltd., though part of the 
capital is probably British. The Nerchinski district, in eastern Siberia, 
comprises many known deposits. The Akatonevski, Kadaenski, Alga- 
chinski and Klichinski deposits are veins, whereas many of the Zerent- 
niski, Gasimoura Valley, Koultoumski and Maltzevski are lenticular 
masses of disseminated ore. In the Kadaenski deposits two massive 
disseminated ore bodies occur in dolomite between two veins. These 
deposits were controlled by the Imperial Cabinet, and their exploitation 
was being seriously considered by British and American capital shortly 
before the revolution. The deposits of largest present importance in 
Siberia are those of the Ridder Mining Co., controlled by the Irtysh 
Corporation of London, which has developed two mines, the Ridder and 
the Sokolni, on the same mineralized zone. The deposits are replace- 
ments by complex sulphide ore of members of a conformable series of 
slates, tuffs, and igneous sills. In 1916 the reserves were estimated at 
945,000 tons of a grade of 31.2 per cent, zinc, 18.1 per cent, lead, 1.5 
per cent, copper, 9.7 ounces of silver, and 0.47 ounces of gold; and also 
2,229,000 tons averaging 6.7 per cent, zinc, 3.5 per cent, lead, 0.5 per cent, 
copper, 1.7 ounces of silver, and 0.7 ounces of gold per ton. Other known 
mineralized zones have not been developed, but the possibilities of the 



276 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

property are immense, being limited chiefly by general political and 
economic conditions. 

A small quantity of lead is produced in Bulgaria from a few small 
deposits containing intimate mixtures of lead, copper and zinc minerals; 
usually either zinc or copper predominate. 

The most important lead deposit in Sweden is the Sala, in Vestman- 
land, where irregular masses and veins of galena and blende with minor 
amounts of pyrite, etc. occur in limestone. Similar deposits occur at 
Lofas and Guldmedshyttan. 

Hungary has no lead mines of importance, although galena occurs in 
some of the veins exploited, notably at Schemnitz, where the larger mines 
are the property of the Hungarian state. 

Most of the ore from Bolivia exported to the United States comes 
from the Majo mine, which produced 884 tons, lead content, in 1912. 
This mine is in southern Bolivia in the region of La Quiaca. 

The most important lead-producing area in Portugal is Merlota, near 
the Guadiana River, where silver-bearing galena and oxidized ores are 
found. Other districts are those of Villa Real, Vizen, Aveiro, Portalagre, 
and Beja. The deposits are similar to those of Spain. 

The only deposit of importance in Rhodesia (South Africa) is the 
Rhodesia Broken Hill. The large ore bodies are, so far as developed, 
almost wholly oxidized. One ore body is estimated to contain 250,000 
long tons of ore averaging 26 per cent, lead and 22.5 percent, zinc; another 
ore body is estimated to contain 300,000 long tons, averaging 32 per cent, 
zinc, with little lead, but much iron oxide and carbonate. These ore 
bodies are controlled by British capital. Considerable difficulty has 
been experienced in developing a commercial treatment. Reports 
indicate this deposit is of greater magnitude than is generally recognized. 

The most important lead deposit of Belgium, or rather of the neutral 
district of Moresnet adjoining Belgium, belonged to the Belgian com- 
pany, Societe de la Vieille Montagne at Moresnet. It was exhausted 
in 1882. 

Changes in Geographical Distribution of Production in the Near 
Future. — No marked change in the pre-war rate of production of ores by 
the countries of Europe or northern Africa is anticipated when normal 
conditions are resumed. Most of the districts in those countries have 
been exploited a long time and have passed their zenith of production; 
many are approaching exhaustion. A possible exception to this state- 
ment is the Ciudad Real Province of Spain, which is being energetically 
developed by the Penarroya company. The division of Austria-Hun- 
gary will not materially affect the control of the lead industry. 

The United States will continue to be the largest source of lead in the 
world, and the only change anticipated is a slight increase in the relative 
importance of the hard-lead output of the Western States. 



LEAD 277 

The chief new factor in production will be the Bawd win mines of Burma, 
which are being developed on a large scale for the production of 300,000 
tons of ore annually. 

Recent developments in the Altai Mountains of southwestern Siberia 
have proved immense bodies of complex zinc-lead ores. Their geographic 
isolation will prevent them from becoming an important factor in the 
world market for a long period, notwithstanding their large size and ex- 
cellent grade. The extent of their exploitation will be determined largely 
by how far the Russian market is affected by internal social and political 
conditions. The loss of the Polish industrial region, with its market 
protected by stringent tariffs, materially restricts the extent of visible 
outlets. 

In the future, but not soon, it is anticipated that there will be develop- 
ments in the Andes region of South America of complex lead-ore deposits 
similar to those of the Western United States. 

POLITICAL CONTROL 

Political control of the lead resources of the world up to the outbreak 
of the war in 1914 seems to have been a minor factor in the industry, 
and to have made itself felt chiefly through imposition of protective tariffs 
or bonuses designed to stimulate domestic production, smelting, and 
refining. Such measures resulted in the establishment of lead smelting 
in British Columbia and were an inducement to the development of the 
Altai district of Siberia. As will be described later in detail, the growth 
of international commercial relations had permitted the establishment 
by German interests of organizations which, although not all-inclusive, 
gave effective control of the industry. 

During the World War, however, political jurisdiction was largely 
invoked to restore control of national resources to citizens. This move- 
ment was particularly marked in the British Empire, where there now 
exists a joint political and commercial control. Alien interests have been 
eliminated by governmental action and the government retains a share 
in the control through its interest in marketing organizations or its finan- 
cial participation in reduction works. In France, the consortium 
Societe Minerals et Metaux, organized by government action, is the 
arbiter of the industry and comprises all the important French companies 
both at home and abroad. In the United States the Alien Property 
Custodian was active in eliminating all enemy-alien interests. 

COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

Copper, lead, and zinc form a class by themselves, with respect to 
industrial utility and tonnage produced, ranking after iron, which far 
outclasses them, as the most important base metals. The total yearly 
production of each throughout the world is considerably more than a 
million tons. 



278 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



o 

- & 



v c3 



O 
Ph 

O 02 

§1 

o 

« 2 

v? GO 

CQ o 



0) o 



* 03 



*£ 






fc.8 



■So 
£-2 



Z-S 



jz o 



£2 






Z° 



cot>. 

tHOO 



•do -ho 



• d 



oo 
oo 

OO 

cnco" 

i-i co 

CN 



OO oo 
•oo -oo 

•HN -0<N 



o ooo 
•o -ooo 
■ oo • eoeo-* 



CNOO 
t-ICO 



(NO 
•0(N 



oo 

oo 
coco 



oo o oo o 

• oo •© -oo •© 

■HN .10^ •©©, -»0 

;i>©* !o* IrntC ; 

,©0 .1-1 .I-Hl-H . 



o© 
• oo 



ON O 

CO CO • • CN 



00 00© 



<N«0 

■do 



oo 
o© 

1-HC0_ 

CO-* 



.§ . 



oo 

• oo 

• ■^o 



oo oo 

• oo • -oo 

• oo-* • «coi> 



.cn . .>-" 



,rH :<N(N 



© CO 
'■r^ id 



<N© 

;^d 



o o 

• o •© 

• co -co 



OO 

• oo 

•CO 00 



•do 



oo 

■CO-* 



o oo o 
■ o -oo •© 

•iO -OO -iO 



O T-HIO 

• © <N ■*' 



ONO COOCOO 
• »C CN 1-H • O *H d ■*' 



<-*>-i CNOOtN 



o oo 
- o 

o 



iO ©c 



ooo 
• ooo 

■©©CO 



o©©© 

• ©©oo 

•COOCNCN 



■o>-^© • •«>-<.© 

[i-Toi-H * ;io"io*<n 

1-H . .1-tCN 



CN"3 
©■* 



OCN 
•rn"d 



§8 

OOO 



OO 

•OO 
•COCO 



oo 
• o© 

•NC 



o© 

.-<d 



rHCN 
•©'© 



(Nt-i 

•do 



• © co 
•d -d 



(M 

• d 



oo 

OO 

oo 

<N<N 

l-HCO 



oo oo 
OO -oo 

.-itN -OCN 



OO O OOOO O 
■OO •© 'OOOO -o 
<0 -"0 



.§ . 

• o • 



' d d --< rn" d d 



■lOOCOiO CO 

•on'oio • © 



CNOOCN 

• odd 



oooooo 
oooooo 

i-^cNOOOCN© 

r-r<Noc"Vco~©" 



OOOO 
OOOO 
<N CO CO CO 



■OOOO -oooooo 
•ooco -oooooo 

'iCffiNM • CO CO •* i-h (N <-H 



•coo 
■ooo 

'HCCCD 
• COi-n-l 



34 






llrli = : 



2£ 

03 «« 



■ i o3 a 

..SoQ§ 



3.25-a J-pS««« a> fi * J « <S -QOcjoS • Si oj • sr° . 

S.S Sg 3£§ fl-S Bt s.3.3 >;8-§ * fl5-s|.a-|js-§|5| 



3 

g 

■si 

•£"8 

'ft 0) 
c3~ 

.d a 

*-: 

o ° 

Is 

£ a 
fl.3 



.2-5 

§>: 
■SS 

&-S 

.2 ft 
"3 S 

(- o 
« » 

■sH 

^^ 

.So 1 

§s 

C a, 

•a a 

s"ft 
<p a 

— • o 



-a 

oj.a 

ill eg 

» M o,c8 

-jT3 os 03 



°T3to O+a 

c o C,n „ 

•2 ft « ° « 



J3&JP "3 
° ft fe ft « ° 

o 3 95ra •♦» ct> 



M M O » Ci K*^ M 



LEAD 279 

The ownership or operative control of mines is a minor factor in the 
commercial control of the lead industry and in general is of importance 
only as determining the distribution of ore to smelters competing other- 
wise on nearly equal terms. Most of the large smelter interests engage 
in, or have subsidiaries engaged in, mining or have sufficient holdings in 
large mining companies to influence their smelting contracts. The 
actual basis of control of the industry is, therefore, often through 
combined ownership or control of mines and of reduction works. 

The ownership or control of reduction plants has been the dominating 
factor in the commercial control of the industry. The production of each 
country in 1913, the principal lead reduction works of the world, and 
their affiliations and control are discussed below. 

United States. — The control of the lead industry of the United States 
through ownership or control is vested in ten groups as follows : 

1. The Morgan-Guggenheim group, comprising the American Smelt- 
ing & Refining Co.; American Smelters Securities Co.; and their subsid- 
iaries: Selby Smelting & Lead Co.; Tacoma Smelting Co.; Garfield 
Smelting Co.; Consolidated Kansas City Smelting & Refining Co.; 
Federal Lead Co.; Federal Mining & Smelting Co.; Western Mining Co.; 
Silver Lake Mining Co. ; and the Yak Mining, Milling & Tunnel Co. 

2. The St. Joseph Lead Co. 

3. National Lead Co.; St. Louis Smelting & Refining Co.; United 
Lead Co. 

4. The Rockefeller-Ryan group, comprising the International Smelt- 
ing Co. — Tooele smelter, Utah; and the International Lead Refining Co., 
— refinery at East Chicago, Ind. 

5. The United States Smelting, Refining & Mining Co. group, com- 
prising the United States Smelting Co. — Midvale smelter, Utah; U. S. 
Metals Refining Co., — electrolytic lead refinery at Grasselli, Ind.; Needles 
Mining & Smelting Co., — zinc-lead custom concentrator at Needles, 
Calif.; Bingham Mines Co. and other mines in Utah (Bullion, Beck, 
Champion, Utah- Apex, Centennial-Eureka and Tintic); Sunnyside and 
Gold Prince mines at Silverton, Colorado, and formerly a half interest 
in International Metals Selling Co. ; and the Leadville Unit. 

6. The Day group, comprising the Northport Smelting & Refining 
Co.; Pennsylvania Smelting & Refining Co.; Hercules Mining Co.; 
Tamarack & Custer Mining Co.; and the Amazon-Manhattan mines et al. 

7. The American Metal Co. group, controlling the Ohio & Colorado 
Smelting Co. (owning 65 per cent, of its stock), and the Balbach Smelting 
& Refining Co. (owning one-third of its capital stock and selling the en- 
tire output). 

8. Hayden-Stone-Clark-Coolidge group, comprising the American 
Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co.; American Zinc Co. of Tennessee; American 
Zinc. Co of Wisconsin; American Zinc Co. of Illinois; Granby Mining & 
Smelting Co. of Missouri; and the Butte & Superior Mining Co. 



280 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

9. The Eagle-Picher group, comprising the Eagle-Picher Lead Co., 
Joplin, Mo. with smelter at Joplin, Mo., and controlling the Galena Smelt- 
ing & Manufacturing Co., Galena, Kan.; and the Webb City Smelting & 
Manufacturing Co., Webb City, Mo. 

10. The Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating Co., con- 
trolled by Bradley-Crocker interests, and probably representing a cer- 
tain proportion of English capital. 

11. The Desloge Consolidated Lead Co., which formerly operated its 
own smelter but now has its ores smelted on toll by the Federal Lead Co. 
and markets its own lead. 

All of the above companies are owned and controlled by American 
citizens so far as known, except certain interests in the American Metal 
Co. and perhaps the Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating Co. 

The American Metal Co. has 70,000 shares of capital stock, of which 
34,644 shares were owned by the Metallgesellschaft, one of the German 
"Trio," 18,620 shares belong to Germans who have become naturalized 
American citizens and have had the management, and the remaining 
16,736 belonged to Henry L. Merton & Co., of London, a firm that is in 
process of " liquidation. The Alien Property Custodian took over the 
34,644 shares referred to above and sold them at public auction. The 
control of the company is vested in three voting trustees selected by 
agreement between the Alien Property Custodian and the American 
shareholders. 

Vogelstein & Co. at one time linked groups 5, 7, 8, and 10, chiefly 
through selling contracts. Vogelstein & Co. owned the International 
Metals Selling Co., formerly marketing the production of the United 
States Smelting, Mining & Refining Co., but this connection is now 
broken. A contract for sale of the entire output of the American Zinc, 
Lead & Smelting Co. was held by L. Vogelstein & Co., partly owned by 
Aron Hirsch & Sohn, another member of the great German metal com- 
bine. L. Vogelstein & Co. (Inc). was seized by the Alien Property Custo- 
dian and was controlled by five directors, two of whom were appointees 
of the Custodian. 1 The operative control of the Bunker Hill & Sullivan 
Mining & Concentrating Co. is vested in Americans, but Vogelstein & 
Co. sells the output. Groups 5 and 8 are probably linked to some extent 
by large stockholders in common, Clark & Coolidge of Boston. 

As a result of the activities of the Alien Property Custodian, the 
ownership and control of substantially all the mines and reduction 
works in the United States are vested in American citizens. Further 
information regarding the activities of German interests in the American 
metal trade is given in the chapter on copper, pages 232-235. 

Table 54 lists the important lead smelting and refining plants of the 
United States at the present time. 

1 L. Vogelstein is reported to have sold his interests to the American Metal Co. 
and subsequently, early in 1920, to have acquired a fifth interest in that company 



LEAD 281 

Table 54. — Silver-lead Smelters in the United States 



Finan- 
cial 

group 
No. 



Operating company- 



Location 



Number 

of 
furnaces 



Annual 
capacity 
(tons of 
charge) 



1 
1 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

10 

7 
5 

6 
6 

4 



American Smelters Securities Co . . 

American Smelting & Refining Co . . 

American Smelting & Refining Co . . 

American Smelting & Refining Co . . 

American Smelting & Refining Co . . 

American Smelting & Refining Co . . 

American Smelting & Refining Co . . 

American Smelting & Refining Co . , 

American Smelting & Refining Co . . 

Con. Kansas City Smelting & Re- 
fining Co 

Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & 
Concentrating, Co 

Ohio & Colorado Smelting Co 

U. S. Smelting, Refining & Mining 
Co 



Nbrthport Smelting & Refining Co . 

Pennsylvania Smelting Co 

International Smelting Co 



Total 



Selby, Calif. 
Denver, Colo. 
Pueblo, Colo. 
Durango, Colo. 
Leadville, Colo. 
Murray, Idaho 
East Helena, Mont. 
Omaha, Neb. 1 
Perth Amboy, N. J. 1 

El Paso, Texas 

Kellogg, Idaho 
Salida, Colo. 

Midvale, Utah 
Northport, Wash. 
Carnegie, Pa. 
Tooele, Utah 



3 

7 
7 
4 
10 
8 
4 
2 
4 



210,000 
510,000 
380,000 
210,000 
510,000 
657,000 
306,000 
82,000 
170,000 

380,000 

600,000 
200,000 

530,000 

216,000 

60,000 

500,000 



77 



5,521,000 



1 Refinery also. 

The following Table 55 shows the relative importance of the various 
financial groups controlling the production of lead in the United States. 

Table 55. — Financial Groups Controlling the Production of Lead 
in the United States 



Financial 

group 

No. 



Company 



Oct.-Nov., 1918 



Percentage of production 



1917 



1 

3 

2 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 

11 



American Smelting & Refining Co 

National Lead Co. (St. Louis Smelting & Refinin 

Co.) 

St. Joseph Lead Co 

International Smelting & Refining Co 

U. S. Smelting Refining & Mining Co 

Pennsylvania Smelting Co 

American Metal Co 

American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co 

Eagle- Picher Lead Co 

Banker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentratin 

Co 

Desloge Consolidated Lead Co 

Ontario Smelting Co 



34.1 



37.7 



5.9 


9.0 


20.1 


16.4 


3.7 


6.5 


5.5 


8.3 


6.2 


7.2 


1.8 


2.1 


1.7 


1.3 


9.3 


6.2 


6.3 


1.7 


2.6 


3.3 


1.9 


0.0 



282 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



The American Smelting & Refining Co., through the preponderance 
of its production and the wide distribution of its interests, dominates the 
domestic industry, although its proportion of the total output has de- 
creased greatly during the past few years. 

Spain. — -More than 60 per cent, of the pig lead made in Spain comes 
from the smelters of the Penarroya company (French) , which within the 
past few years has absorbed the Spanish smelters of Escombrera-Bley- 
berg at Esconbrera, and the two smelters of Figueroa, at Linares and 
Cartagena. This gives the Penarroya company a dominant posi- 
tion in the Spanish lead industry. English interests, E. J. Enthoven & 
Co., have a smelter producing about 25,000 short tons of lead annually. 
All the smelting companies have made a combination to stop competition 
in ore buying. The Spanish government imposes a duty of about $1.80 
per ton on lead concentrates exported. 

Australia. — Smelting plants in Australia that produce lead have the 
capacities shown below. 



Company- 


Location 


1913 production, 
short tons 
pig lead 


Broken Hill Associated Smelters. . . 
Sulphide Corporation 


Port Pirie, South Australia 
Cockle Creek, New South Wales 


92,824 
19,660 




Total 


112,484 







The annual capacity of the Port Pirie plant is now 165,000 short tons 
of pig lead. 

Table 56. — Silver Lead Smelters in Mexico 



Company 


Location 


Number of 
furnaces 


Annual 

capacity 

tons of charge 


American Smelting & Refining Co 

American Smelting & Refining Co 

American Smelting & Refining Co 

American Smelters Securities Co 


Monterrey 

Aguascalientes 

Chihuahua 

Velardena 

Cerralvo 

Guadalupe, N. L. 

Monterrey 
San Luis Potosi 

Torreon 
Mapimi 
Saltillo, Coahuila 


7 

1 (lead) 

7 

3 

2 

1 

4 (or 8?) 
10 

9 
6 
1 


410,000 

40,000 

400,000 

150,000 

35,000 

70,000 

210,000 
250,000 

350,000 
350,000 


Compania de Minerales y Metales 

Compania de Minerales y Metales 

Compania Fundadora y Refinadora de 
Monterrey (leased to American Metal 
Co.) 


Compania Metalurgica Mexicana (Towne) 
Compania de Minerales y Metales (re- 
ported about to be dismantled) 

Compania Minera de Petioles 


Mazapil Copper Co., Ltd. (English) 


36,000 


Total. 


51 


2,301,000 







LEAD 283 

Mexico. — Practically all the Mexican smelting works are owned and 
operated by American companies. Prior to the war several of these were 
controlled by German interests through the American Metal Co. (in- 
corporated in the United States), but the action of the Alien Property 
Custodian eliminated all foreign control in those companies, which com- 
prise Compafiia Minera de Penoles, Compafiia de Minerales y Metales, 
and Compafiia Metalurgica de Torreon, leaving only the Compafiia 
Fundadora y Refinadora de Monterrey still under German control. 
The American Metal Co. normally controlled 60,000 to 75,000 tons of 
bonded Mexican lead and 12,000 to 15,000 tons of lead smelted in Mexico, 
together with over a thousand tons of antimonial lead. 

The Aguascalientes and Velardefia plants are chiefly copper smelters. 
There are small lead smelters at Terrazas and Santa Rosalia, Chihuahua, 
but they are probably abandoned. 

British Isles. — During the war the British lead-smelting capacity is 
reported to have been increased. Before the war a large amount of 
foreign lead bullion from Spain, Belgium and Germany was desilverized 
in the British Isles. 

Other Countries. — The lead-smelting plants of France escaped de- 
struction during the war, being outside the war zone. The capacity of the 
Pontgibaud plant was greatly increased. They are all French owned. 
The most important lead smelting plant in Italy is that of the Societa 
di Pertusola (English), with a pig-lead output in 1915 of 16,625 metric 
tons; the other plant is that of the Societa di Monteponi (Italian), with 
an output of 5,187 tons. The only lead smelting of Greece is that of the 
Compagnie des Mines de Laurium (French) . 

The only important lead smelter of Canada is that of Trail, British 
Columbia, which is controlled by the Canadian government. This 
plant includes a refinery using the Betts electrolytic process. 

The only lead smelter in Turkey is one controlled by French interests, 
that of the Societe des Mines de Balia-Kara-Aidin, at Kara-Aidin. The 
lead smelting plant of the Burma Mines Corporation, Ltd., at Bawdwin, 
Burma, has a capacity of 22,000 short tons lead. 

In Siberia the Bidder Mining Co., controlled by the Irtysh Corpora- 
tion, of London, has constructed 165 miles of railroad, which, together 
with river transport, brings the ore from the Ridder concession and the 
coal of the Ekibastus coal fields to the smelting plant at Ermak, which 
has a capacity of 15,000 tons of lead annually. 

Trade Combinations. — National and even international control of 
the lead market has at times been attained through marketing organiza- 
tions or trade combinations of reduction works, ore-buying and metal- 
selling agencies with interlocking directorates, joint ownership, and 
long-term contracts for ores, concentrates, and metals. 

In 1909 the so-called Lead Convention, or officially the International 



284 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Sales Association, was formed in Paris. It was composed of German, 
Spanish, and Belgian producers and metal-selling agencies controlling 
directly about one-half of the European production. Some companies 
not nominally in the association acted in concert with it. This conven- 
tion was renewed in 1910 and again in 1913 for three years. The associa- 
tion was dominated by the same interests as the German Zinc Syndicate, 
— the Merton group, comprising the Metallgesellschaft, the Metallbank 
and Metallurgische Gesellschaft of Frankfort and the Merton companies 
of London; Beer, Sondheimer & Co., controlling a dozen German metal 
and chemical concerns, and Aron Hirsch & Sohn at Halberstadt. The 
Merton group of London and Frankfort were the selling agents of 
the association, and the dominant "Trio," through the Australian 
Metal Co., controlled the lead exported as metal or concentrates from 
Australia. 

In the United States and Mexico all lead exported was controlled by 
the American Metal Co., affiliated with the association, or the American 
Smelting & Refining Co., acting in concert with it. The German 
"Trio" maintained and was rapidly extending and strengthening its as- 
cendancy throughout the world through banks, holding companies, 
affiliations with syndicates and cartels, interlocking directorates, joint 
share holdings and purchase in whole or in part of mines and smelters. 
Some of the English lead refineries were closely associated with the Con- 
vention, and all lead exported from the Port Pirie smelter was sold by 
Merton & Co. The association was able to fix the price of lead in Europe 
and thus affect the output and, it has been claimed, so manipulated the 
market that lead outside the Convention was controlled just as effectively 
as that inside. The membership was international, brought together 
by mercenary motives. That the strongest and most aggressive interests 
were German citizens was purely incidental. 

As a result of the war, however, the production of Australian lead 
concentrates and bullion is permanently diverted from German control. 
The activities of the Alien Property Custodian tended to eliminate all 
German interests in the United States. Most of the Australian lead 
bullion production is now marketed by the Broken Hill Associated Smelt- 
ers, Prop., Ltd., of whose capital stock the Broken Hill Proprietary owns 
one-third and the Broken Hill South, Broken Hill North, and Zinc Cor- 
poration each own two-ninths. The plant of this company is now the 
largest smelter in the world. 

The nationalist movement in France resulted in the formation of 
trade associations known as " consortiums, " comprising the principal 
factor in each industry. These "consortiums," were recognized by the 
government, and each was made virtually arbiter of its particular field. 
The consortium of the mineral industry has been perfected into the 
Societe Minerals et Metaux, 154 Boulevard Hausmann, Paris. The 



LEAD 285 

official announcement states that this society is organized under the 
auspices of the French government in order to group the French metal 
producers operating both at home and abroad into a co-operative 
association for the purchase and sale of metallurgical products. 

The participants comprise the principal companies in France producing 
or refining metals and also the mining and smelting companies controlled 
by French capital in Spain, Algeria, Tunis, and other foreign countries. 
A highly centralized organization of that part of the mineral and metal 
industry under French control is thus achieved for mutual protection 
and advantage in competition with other nationalities. Members of 
this organization will produce most of the ore from Algiers and Tunis and 
probably 75 per cent, of the Spanish lead bullion. The present annual 
output of the participating companies is about 200,000 metric tons of 
lead, 50,000 metric tons of zinc, and 40,000 tons of copper, besides iron, 
antimony, platinum, etc. The association comprises the following 
companies: Societe Miniere et Metallurgique de Penarroya; Societe 
d'Affmage de Metaux; Compagnie des Mines d'Ain-Barbar; Association 
Miniere; Societe des Mines de Zinc d'Ain-Arko; Compagnie du Boleo; 
Compagnie Frangaise des Mines de Bor; Corocoro United Copper Mines, 
Ltd.; Societe des Mines de Fedj-el-Adoum; Societe des Mines de Zinc de 
Guergour; Compagnie des Mines de Huaron; Societe Miniere du Kanguet; 
Compagnie des Minerais de Fer Magnetique de Mokta-et-Hadid; 
Comptoir Lyon Alemand; Societe Anonyme des Mines de Malfidano; 
Campagnie des Mines d'Ouasta et de Desloula; Societe des Mines de 
Parzan; Compagnie Industrielle du Platine; Societe Anonyme des Mines 
et Fonderies de Pontgibaud; Societe des Mines d'Antimoine de Roche- 
trejoux; Societe des Anciens Etablissements Sop with; Societe Frangaise 
d'Etudes et d'Enterprises; Societe des Mines du Djebel-Ressas; Societe 
Anonyme Frangaise du Djebel-Hallouf; Societe Anonyme des Mines et 
Usines de Peyrebrune; and Compagnie La Cruz. 

One of the results of the war was the stimulation of co-operative 
enterprises between British companies, the movement being encouraged 
by the government, which in some cases participated financially. The 
British Australian Lead Manufacturers Proprietary, Ltd., was formed as 
a consolidation of the Australian interests of British firms, with the object 
of establishing a white-lead industry in that country. Those participat- 
ing comprise: Alexander Ferguson & Co.; Cookson & Co.; Foster, 
Blockett & Wilson; Locke, Blockett & Co.; Locke-Lancaster; W. W. 
& R. Johnson & Sons, Ltd.; Mersey White Lead Co., Ltd.; and Walkers 
Parker & Co. 

The Chloride Syndicate comprising the Zinc Corporation, Ltd., 
Burma Mines Corporation, and the Swansea Vale Smelter, Ltd., is 
conducting experimental work on the Ganlin process with the object of 
perfecting it. 



286 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Richard Tilden Smith, having acquired controlling interests in J. H. 
Enthoven & Sons, Locke-Lancaster, Walkers Parker & Co. and a one- 
third interest in the Burma Mines Corporation, became a strong link 
between these important companies and thus secured an arrangement 
with the Imperial Government for financial assistance with the new 
plant of the National Smelting Co., Ltd., at Avonmouth to the extent of 
£500,000 out of the total estimated cost of £750,000, the government being 
particularly interested in the production of by-product acid. The 
National Smelting Co. agreed to take 25,000 tons yearly of Broken Hill 
concentrate and smelt no foreign ore without government permission. 
Enthoven & Sons control through ownership the output of one of the 
Spanish smelters and through desilverizing and marketing contracts the 
output of the French Laurium company of Greece. An attempt to bring 
about a closer combination of all the above-mentioned English and 
Australian companies failed. 

It is reported that in 1917 Vivian, Younger & Bond, and Morgan, 
Grenfeld & Co. were instrumental in forming a " Metal Bank" in London. 
Broken Hill Associated Smelters Prop. Ltd., and the Penarroya company 
were said to have agreed to market their production through this bank, 
but it is probable that the arrangement was never made effective. A 
Chemical and Metallurgical Bank has been formed in London, among 
the shareholders being Richard Tilden Smith. Its proposed field is not 
clear, but it will probably endeavor to influence the control of lead in the 
United Kingdom. 

A British Metals Corporation was formed in 1918 by Vivian, Younger 
& Bond, Chas. Tennant Sons & Co., Cookson & Co., the British Alumi- 
num Co., Morgan, Grenfeld & Co., and large stockholders of the Rio 
Tinto Co., with a capital of £5,000,000. The Imperial Treasury will be 
represented on the board of directors. The purposes are to finance 
British non-ferrous metal companies, bring all the production within the 
empire of those metals under one marketing organization and preserve 
British control. If plans are successfully carried out, the smelting both 
in England and on the Continent of Europe, should any British concen- 
trates be allotted there, will practically be on toll, the metal remaining 
in the control of the Metals Corporation or the affiliated bank. 

POSITION OF THE GREAT NATIONS 

The accompanying table presents available statistics of production 
since 1913 in order to show the extent to which the industry in each 
.country is controlled by domestic or foreign capital, and attempts to 
show the extent of commercial control by each of the great powers. 
Such statistics are at best only approximate; the control varies from 
year to year and the data are difficult to obtain and verify. 



LEAD 287 

Table 57. — Commercial Control of the World's Output of Pig Lead 





Recent 

pig-lead 

production 

(short tons) 


Year 


Per cent. 

of 

world 


Financial control by 


Country 


Home 
capital 


United 

States 


Great 
Britain 


France 


Germany 


United States 


612,200 

127,800 

12,600 

20,400 

20,000 

30,800 

24,000 

39,400 

200 

2,400 

12,800 

12,300 

3,000 

1,100 

6,000 

61,200 

157,000 

2,100 

200,000 

26,600 


1917 
1913 
1916 
1916 
1917 
1913 

1913 
1917 
1917 
1916 
1916 
1917 
1913 
1917 
1913 
1917 
1915 
1913 
1913 


44.6 
9.4 
0.9 
1.5 
1.5 
2.2 
1.8 
2.9 

0.2 
0.9 
0.9 
0.2 
0.1 
0.4 
4.4 

11.4 
0.1 

14.5 
1.9 





612,200 


127,800. 
12,600 
20,400 
20,000 


30,800 
24,400 




































Italy 


5,700 
15,000 




18,300 














200 




400 






2,000 
12,800 

105,000 














12,300 

500 

1,100 

3,000 

20,000 
1,100 


500 
53,200 


2,000 

1,000 

8,000 

25,000 












Chile 


2,000 








7,000 




1,000 










200,000 


Austria-Hungary 


26,600 










Total 


1,371,900 




100.0 




665,900 


235,100 


175,000 


210,200 






Per cent of world 
production . 






100.0 




48.6 


17.2 


12.7 


16.3 



United States. — During the war the United States demonstrated that 
its lead-ore deposits were capable of a production greatly in excess of the 
normal. That the increase was not greater was chiefly because of in- 
sufficient incentive in the market price of lead, which did not attain the 
early inflation of many of the other metals; and later, when the price was 
right, was restricted by lack of refining capacity. The existing capacity 
was at times not fully utilized because of the congestion of railway 
traffic. The lead-ore deposits in the United States have large possibilites, 
but with the exception of the disseminated lead deposits of southeastern 
Missouri the developed ore reserves will supply production for only a 
few years. Control of the mines in the United States is vested almost 
exclusively in Americans or American companies, some of the latter, 
however, having foreign stockholders, chiefly British or Canadian. 

The United States imports lead ores, to a small percentage of its 
total production, from Mexico, Canada, South America and Africa. 
The Mexican ore is largely imported to meet the especial needs of the 
El Paso lead smelter, and not because of lack of smelting capacity in 
Mexico. The smelting capacity of the United States has always been in 
excess of the actual production of ore and is now very greatly in excess 
of the normal production. The ownership of most of the important 
smelters has always been vested in American capital, and as a result of 
the activity of the Alien Property Custodian all of them are now owned 



288 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

and controlled by American citizens. A considerable amount of lead 
bullion is imported, chiefly from Mexico, for refining. Most of this is 
re-exported. United States capital through ownership of smelters con 
trols the greater part of the pig lead produced in Mexico and Peru. The 
importation of ore and bullion for refining from Canada is restricted by 
the government bounty on lead smelted and refined in Canada. United 
States capital also controls a considerable percentage of the mines of 
Mexico and has some interest in the Burma Mines Corporation, and the 
Irtysh Corporation. 

Notwithstanding the enlarged smelting capacity and the possibilities 
of production from American mines, it is not expected that there will be 
any considerable export of domestic lead after the period of readjustment 
following the World War. 

British Empire. — The countries of the British Empire in the order of 
the importance of their lead output in 1913 are Australia, British Isles, 
Canada, Burma, and Egypt. 

British capital controls the mines and smelters of the British Isles, 
Canada, Australia, Burma, and the Altai Mountains in Siberia, and, by 
ownership of mines and smelters, some 25,000 tons of lead annually from 
Spain and over 70 per cent, of the production of Italy. By contracts for 
desilverization and marketing it has controlled the greater part of the 
Spanish output and part of the production of Greece. It is reported 
also to control small tonnages of ore from Peru and Chile. In view of the 
recent increase of refining capacity in Spain by the Penarroya company 
(French), and the organization of all French interests into the SocieUe 
Minerals et Metaux, future control by English capital of Spanish output 
above the 25,000 tons produced by the English smelter is doubtful, al- 
though it has been reported that the Penarroya company had agreed to 
market its lead through the new Metal Bank of London. Prior to the 
war much base bullion from Spain, Belgium, and Germany was imported 
and desilverized, and in large part re-exported. 

The ore production of the British Empire is about 25 per cent, greater 
than its consumption, but insufficient smelting capacity has caused 
dependence on foreign-smelted lead. The smelting capacity has been 
increased, and the additional capacity contemplated will make the total 
equal the consumption. The empire can be made independent of the 
rest of the world should the policy of "Imperial preference" be adopted. 

All the large interests in the lead industry of the British Empire have 
shown during the war period a strong tendency to co-operate and organize 
for mutual protection and benefit. A culmination of this movement is 
apparently the formation of the British Metals Corporation, intended to 
vest the marketing control of the production of the whole British Empire 
in one organization under governmental auspices. 

Australia. — The Australian production of lead ore and concentrates, 
derived chiefly from New South Wales, makes Australia rank second in 



LEAD 289 

world production of lead ores. In 1913 little more than half the output 
was exported to Europe for smelting, the remainder being smelted at 
Cockle Creek and Port Pirie. The pig lead produced, less a small local 
consumption, was also exported. 

Australian mines have always been owned by British and Australian 
capital. Prior to the war the marketing of concentrates and of all lead 
bullion exported was controlled by the Australian Metal Co., affiliated 
with the German metal "Trio" headed by the Metallgesellschaft. Dur- 
ing the war, however, the governments of Great Britain and Australia 
annulled the long-time ore- and metal-purchasing contracts, and the ore 
producers and smelters have organized for mutual protection and to keep 
the industry permanently under exclusive British control. The capacity 
of the Port Pirie reduction works has been increased by capital contri- 
buted jointly by the principal mining companies, and the plant is now 
the largest lead smelter in the world. 

British Isles. — The small output of lead ore in Great Britain is ob- 
tained from a few scattered deposits of little importance. Some ore is 
imported and smelted with the domestic production. The consumption 
of the British Isles is so large that very large imports of pig lead are 
necessary, amounting to 14 per cent, of the world's production. All of 
the mines and smelters of the British Isles are owned and controlled, so 
far as known, by British capital. 

Canada. — With the assistance, through bounties, of the Canadian 
government, the Trail smelter has become firmly established and is the 
only important lead producer of Canada. It handles most of the British 
Columbia output of ores, which otherwise would have to go to the United 
States for reduction. The Canadian consumption is, however, about one- 
third greater than the production. 

Burma. — Although the production of ore and pig lead in the Northern 
Shan States by the Burma Mines Corporation was in 1913 an insignifi- 
cant part of the world's output, the company has developed its deposits 
so as to be capable of a very much greater yield, which may amount in the 
near future to 75,000 tons annually. This company is controlled by 
British with probably some American capital. 

Egypt. — The small ore production of Egypt is exported for smelting 
and is controlled by French capital. 

Germany. — Germany, a large producer of lead ores, imported in 1913 
for smelting nearly 10 per cent, of the world's output and in addition im- 
ported a considerable amount of pig lead, being the second largest con- 
sumer of lead in the world. Should Germany lose Upper Silesia, which 
produced nearly half the domestic ores, it will be still more dependent on 
imports to supply its smelters. Prior to the war the German lead in- 
dustry was closely organized, much of the lead mining and smelting being 
conducted by departments of the state governments, although some of 

19 



290 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

the largest concerns were private corporations. The German metal 
"Trio" headed by the Metallgesellschaft through the International 
Sales Association controlled directly about one-half the European produc- 
tion, comprising in this so-called Lead Convention, besides the German 
concerns, most of the Spanish and Belgian producers, most of the lead 
exported from the United States and Mexico, and the pig lead and con- 
centrates exported from Australia. This system of control outside of 
Germany has now been permanently destroyed, and the magnitude 
and the organization of the German lead industry in the near future can- 
not be anticipated. 

France. — In France the output of lead ore is smal and is controlled, 
with probably one exception, by French capital. Some ores are imported 
for smelting, Tunis and Algeria being capable of supplying even more. 
To provide for the large consumption, France ranking fourth among 
lead-consuming countries, there is imported in the form of pig lead some 
7 per cent, of the world's output. Recently smelting capacity has been 
increased. French capital controls more than half the production of 
Belgium through ownership of smelters, and through ownership of mines 
and smelters controls more than half the production of Spain and most, 
if not all, of the output of Greece. It also controls the ore production of 
Egypt and most of the ores produced in Algeria and Tunis. Under 
government auspices a strong organization of all the metal-producing 
companies controlled by French capital in France and foreign countries 
has recently been effected under the name of the Society Minerals et 
Metaux, which controls the sale of all the production of its members, as 
well as acting as a purchasing agent for them. 

Belgium. — Belgium produces no ores but smelts about 4J^ per cent, 
of the world's output, nearly the whole of which is consumed within her 
borders. A little less than half of this production is controlled by 
Belgian capital, the remainder by French interests. Belgian capital is 
also interested to a minor extent in Spain, Algeria, the Caucasus Moun- 
tains and Tunis. It is believed that a part of the Australian concen- 
trates may be allotted to Belgium for smelting. 

Italy. — The Italian ore production, amounting to about 2 per cent, 
of the world's total, is smelted in that country. The product is consumed, 
together with about 50 per cent, more, imported as pig lead. More than 
three-fourths of the domestic output is controlled by English capital; 
nearly all the remainder is controlled by Italian capital, but other English, 
French and Belgian companies produce insignificant amounts of ore. 

Austria-Hungary. — The Austro-Hungarian Empire produced and 
smelted ores to the amount of about 2 per cent, of the world's output 
in 1913, and consumed this with about 50 per cent, more metal imported 
in the form of pig lead. The several lead-producing districts and 
smelters, some of which belong to the states of Austria and Hungary, 



LEAD 291 

with the partition of the empire fall within three or more distinct 
political jurisdictions, the lead production of none of which will be of 
importance. One of the important lead smelters is at Fiume. 

Spain. — Spain ranks third in content of ores produced and second in 
smelter production. The domestic consumption being negligible, all 
of the lead is exported. Prior to the war most of the production went to 
England to be desilverized. During the war, however, the refining 
capacity of Spain was greatly increased, and it now seems likely that any 
silver lead which the domestic plants can not take care of will be shipped 
to France for desilverization. More than half the Spanish production is 
controlled by French capital, and to a minor degree by Belgian and 
German interests. 

Japan. — Japanese lead-ore resources are meagre. The output of lead 
ore and pig lead in 1913 was about 25 per cent, of the domestic consump- 
tion. Since then ores and concentrates have been imported from China, 
Formosa, Korea, Siberia, and Australia, but importation of pig lead has 
still been necessary. The Japanese are endeavoring to secure control 
of ore deposits in China and Siberia, and supply the raw material for the 
increase of their domestic smelting and manufacturing industries. It is 
probable, however, that Japan will be dependent for many years on 
imports from other sources for most of the lead consumed. 

SUMMARY 

The chief uses of lead are as metal and in the form of white lead or 
basic carbonate, as a pigment. Metallic lead is used for water pipe, 
covering for electrical cables, lining acid chambers and vats, and for shot, 
bullets and shrapnel. Alloys with various other metals are used in 
type, bearings, and fuses. The red and orange oxides are used for pig- 
ments. The largest single form of consumption is white lead. 

Lead and zinc ores are commonly associated and are widely dis- 
tributed over the world. Galena is the chief lead mineral, the other ore 
minerals, cerussite and anglesite, being derived from it by oxidation. 
Galena is a persistent mineral, being found in nearly all types of ore 
deposits. The countries producing the most ore are, in order of im- 
portance, United States, Australia, Spain, Germany, and Mexico. 
Districts of major importance are Broken Hill, New South Wales; south- 
eastern Spain; southeastern Missouri; and Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. 

The developments in selective oil flotation, by which the detrimental 
zinc content is eliminated from complex ores and made an asset, con- 
stitute the greatest recent advance in the dressing of lead ores. Elec- 
trolytic refining is the greatest recent advance in the metallurgy of lead. 

The readiness with which lead is reduced from its ores and its utility 
as a collector of the precious metals in smelting have resulted in a wide 



292 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

distribution of reduction plants. Nevertheless a large percentage of the 
world's output of ores is transported from the countries of origin to 
others, for reduction near the market and where skilled labor and fuel are 
more abundant and cheaper. 

The countries of largest smelter production are, in order, United 
States, Spain, Germany and Australia; those of much less importance are 
Mexico, Belgium, Great Britain, France, Austria-Hungary, Italy, 
Greece, Canada and, recently, Burma. Other countries are of little 
importance. 

The countries of major consumption are, in order, United States, 
Germany, Great Britain, and France. The United States produces its 
own requirements, but the other three countries import ores for smelting 
and also pig lead in large quantity. Australia and northern Africa have 
supplied the bulk of the ores, and Spain, Australia, and Mexico most of 
the pig lead. This is the situation at last analysis, the actual trade move- 
ment being, of course, much more complex. 

The political control of the world's lead production, in terms of the 
lead content of ores, in 1913 was as follows: United States, 36.0 per cent. ; 
British Empire, 23.9 per cent. ; Spain, 6.4 per cent. ; Germany, 5.9 per 
cent.; Mexico, 5.1 per cent.; and France, 4.0 per cent. Three powers 
thus control 76 per cent, of the production. 

The ownership of mines is important chiefly as determining the dis- 
tribution of ores to smelters. Ore-purchasing contracts may modify or 
annul the effect of political jurisdiction and mine ownership. The owner- 
ship or control of reduction plants has been the most effective basis for 
commercial control of the industry. In the United States the American 
Smelting & Refining Co. dominates the market, but controls directly 
only one-third of the output. In Spain the French company of Pen- 
arroya controls more than half the production. In Germany the " Trio " 
headed by the Metallgesellschaft controlled the domestic industry prior 
to the war, and through the "Lead Convention" extended its domina- 
tion to half the European output and most of the exports of Australia, 
Mexico, and the United States. This control was, however, never ab- 
solute. In Australia at present the Broken Hill Associated Smelters 
controls the marketing of most of the pig lead exported. 

Joint political and commercial control has been established in the 
British Empire and France. During the war, political jurisdiction was 
quite generally invoked to modify or eliminate commercial control, partic- 
ularly with regard to alien-enemy interests. 

The various combinations of British companies to insure British 
control of the resources of the empire, particularly of Australia and 
Burma, culminated in the formation of the British Metals Corporation 
for the sale of the output. A representative of the Imperial Treasury 
will be on the board of directors and either the Metal Bank of London or 



LEAD 293 

the Chemical & Metallurgical Bank may finance its operation, unless it 
absorbs their functions. This organization is doubtless intended to take 
the place of the Metallgesellschaft as the dominant factor in the lead 
industry of the world. It will have much influence, as British capital 
controls all the production of the British Isles, Australia, Burma, Canada, 
and normally Siberia, most of that of Italy, part of that of Spain and 
Mexico, and perhaps of Greece. Probably the British Isles will not in 
the future desilverize as much foreign lead as formerly, so that the 
importance of this basis of commercial control will be greatly decreased. 

The Societe Minerals et Metaux, comprising all producers controlled 
by French capital, under government auspices is selling and purchasing 
agent for its members, and controls all the French and most of the Grecian 
production, more than half of that of Spain and Belgium, besides the ores 
of northern Africa and of Egypt. 

Since the elimination of alien-enemy holdings by the Alien Property 
Custodian, United States capital controls substantially all the domestic 
production and nearly all that of Mexico, besides some ores imported 
from Mexico, Canada, and South America. Notwithstanding large ore 
reserves and reduction capacity, the United States is expected, after the 
period of readjustment, to supply its domestic needs, but to export little 
lead, as was the case prior to the war. 

The position of Germany will depend largely upon arrangements for 
foreign ore supply. Some Mexican ore production may still be under 
German control. Belgium is wholly dependent on foreign ore, which 
presumably will be obtained largely from Australia; and with more than 
half her production controlled by French capital, she will be under Brit- 
ish and French domination; but she consumes most of her smelter output. 
Italy consumes 50 per cent, more than the domestic production, which 
is chiefly controlled by English capital. None of the states formed by 
the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire will be of importance 
in the lead industry. 

The commercial control of the smelter production of lead, calculated 
from the latest statistics available, is approximately as follows: United 
States, 48.6 per cent.; British Empire, 17.2 per cent.; Germany, 15.3 per 
cent.; and France, 12.7 per cent.; or a total for the four powers of 93.8 
per cent, of the pig-lead output of the world. 



CHAPTER XVI 
ZINC 

By Frederick B. Hyder 
USES OF ZINC 

Metallic zinc, or spelter, as the commercial metal is often known in 
the trade, is chiefly used in the form of rolled sheets; in galvanizing; 
in alloys forming brass and bronze; and in the desilverization of lead 
bullion. Rolled sheets are used for roofs, tanks, conduits, and protective 
linings. Iron and steel objects are dipped into baths of molten spelter 
and coated with the metal or galvanized, being thereby protected from 
oxidizing agencies. Other methods of applying this protective coating 
are also in use. 

Zinc and copper unite in all proportions, forming alloys known as 
brass which are of widespread industrial application. There is only one 
definite alloy; it corresponds approximately to CuZn 2 , contains 33 per 
cent, copper and 67 per cent, zinc, is hard and brittle and of little practical 
value. All other brasses may be considered as solid solutions of this 
definite alloy in an excess of one of its constituents. Brasses in use vary 
in zinc content from 20 to 85 per cent, and differ greatly in their proper- 
ties according to the composition. Alloys of zinc and aluminum have 
valuable properties, especially those containing 25 to 35 per cent. zinc. 
Other alloys used contain, besides copper and zinc, either lead, tin or 
nickel. 

The Parkes process of desilverizing lead bullion has superseded the 
older Pattinson and cupellation process, except where bismuth is present, 
owing to the avidity with which zinc robs the bullion of gold, silver, 
copper and tellurium. This purification may be made as perfect as 
desired or only to a commercially profitable point, generally being brought 
down to a content of one-half ounce of silver per ton of lead. 

Among the miscellaneous uses of zinc are these: ornamental castings; 
in galvanic batteries; in photo-engraving; in plates hung in boilers to 
prevent formation of scale; precipitation of gold in the cyanide process; 
in the form of powder, as a reducing agent in organic chemistry, especially 
in the reduction of indigo-blue and in a paint for structural steel. Zinc 
is also used in the form of numerous salts, such as the chloride as a wood 
preservative, and the sulphate, employed in medicine, dyeing and glue 
manufacture. 

294 



ZINC 295 

Zinc oxide, produced both from the metal and from ores, is used as a 
pigment both in combination with white lead and barytes, and as a com- 
petitor of them. Considerable amounts of oxide are also used in the 
rubber manufacturing industry. Lithopone (an intimate mixture, ob- 
tained by chemical precipitation of zinc sulphide and barium sulphate) 
is of growing importance as a pigment. 

All the chief uses of zinc, comprising galvanizing, rolled sheets, brass- 
making and the desilverization of lead bullion, may be considered essential. 
Brass belongs with steel in the category of indispensable materials of 
modern industry. No satisfactory substitute as regards both physical 
qualities and cost is available for many important parts of machinery 
and for manufacturing purposes. Its wide use depends on a number of 
qualities. The excellent sharp castings made from certain brasses are 
readily machined or otherwise finished and electro-plated if desired. 
The electrical conductivity of brass is good. Certain brasses are easily 
rolled into sheets and cut and stamped in desired shapes. Lubricated 
surfaces of steel on brass make satisfactory and durable bearings. 

The other large uses of zinc depend on its resistance to oxidation and 
on the possibility of rolling it into fairly thin sheets. In both these 
qualities, however, it is surpassed by other metals, notably nickel and tin. 
Alloyed with lead it may be rolled into a substitute for tin-foil. It is in 
some cases a fairly satisfactory, cheap substitute for metals of higher 
quality. In times of scarcity or high prices, substitution of metals of 
inferior quality is feasible, and in many cases zinc may be temporarily 
dispensed with altogether. Its field is therefore largely fixed by commer- 
cial conditions of supply and price, which determine broadly the total 
consumption and especially the percentages devoted to the various uses. 
It may be assumed, however, that the percentages for the domestic 
consumption in the United States in 1910 represent approximately those 
of normal peace times. In that year, of the total consumption, 60 per 
cent, was used in galvanizing; 20 per cent, in brass-making; 11 per cent, 
in rolled sheets; and 1 per cent, in lead desilverization ; leaving 8 per cent, 
for miscellaneous uses. During the war the percentage used in galvaniz- 
ing was greatly reduced and that used for brass-making much increased. 
The use of rolled sheets will increase. 

A large part of the European production in normal times is rolled into 
sheets used chiefly for roofing. 

CHANGES IN PRACTICE 

In the extraction of zinc from its ores the most important changes in 
practice during recent years have been adaptations of retort smelting 
for the purpose of utilizing zinc concentrates from complex ores, the in- 
creased production of zinc oxide and lithopone through the application 



296 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

of volatilization methods to the re-treatment of retort residues and base 
ores, and the electrolytic and electro-thermic processes of extraction of 
the metal. 

The most revolutionary advance has been the development of the 
oil flotation, the electro-magnetic, and electro-static processes for the 
concentration of ores. These processes are being widely introduced and 
in connection with electrolytic reduction are particularly adapted to the 
production of spelter of the highest quality from complex ores. As the 
electrolytic and electro-thermic processes find their field only where power 
is relatively cheap, the tendency is to put installations where hydro-elec- 
tric power is available, effecting a redistribution of zinc-smelting centers. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

Zinc and lead are commonly associated in mineral deposits, sometimes 
intimately mixed, sometimes so segregated that one metal predominates, 
but ores of one are seldom free entirely from the other. The geological 
and geographical distribution of the two metals is therefore nearly 
identical. 

The sulphide ores, chiefly sphalerite or blende, are the most important, 
but in the oxidized zone they are often altered to carbonates — smith- 
sonite, calamine and hydrozincite. The oxides — franklinite, willemite 
and zincite — are important in only one district in New Jersey. The 
carbonates, although they carry a low percentage of zinc, often occur in 
concentrated ore bodies, and yield readily to metallurgical treatment. 
Therefore, calamine-smithsonite ores form a large proportion of the 
production of many important districts, but blende will hereafter be of 
increasing importance in the world production. 

Zinc ores occur in deposits of several distinct genetic types. In the 
order of their importance they are : 

(a) Deposits formed in sedimentary rocks, without apparent connec- 
tion with igneous rocks, as bedded replacements usually of limestones and 
dolomites. The ores of this type usually contain lead (galena) and iron 
(pyrite or marcasite) minerals, often those of manganese and cadmium, 
sometimes those of arsenic, cobalt and nickel, but seldom gold, silver, 
copper, or antimony. Barite and fluorite are sometimes present. 

The deposits of this type are of world-wide distribution. Their 
greater purity and the simplicity of the treatment necessary, particularly 
of the ores in their oxidized zones, have caused them to be exploited first 
and most extensively and to be until recently the dominant factor in 
the world production of zinc. To this type belong the deposits of the 
Mississippi Valley and Silesia, which together produced 34 per cent, of the 
world's output in 1913. 

(b) Veins associated with igneous rocks and disseminated sulphide 



ZINC 297 

replacements of igneous rock. In this group come the deposits of Butte, 
Leadville, and the Coeur d'Alene, and the disseminated deposits of the 
Bawdwin (Burma Mines Co.), Bidder (Siberia) and Salmon River (B.C.). 
These ores are usually complex, comprising minerals of zinc, lead, copper, 
iron, gold and silver, and often arsenic, antimony and other metals. 
In one group, the silver-lead deposits, zinc seems a minor factor, but 
with depth replaces lead as the predominant metal. Deposits of these 
complex ores have in recent years become important sources of zinc 
through recognition of the zinc ores in their oxidized zones, through zinc 
becoming the dominant metal with increasing depth at many mines, and 
especially through improvements in methods of concentrating complex 
ores and extracting metal from the concentrates. Ores of this type will 
be of increasing importance in the future because of their world-wide 
distribution. 

(c) Igneous metamorphic deposits containing franklinite, willemite, 
zincite, a little blende, and a gangue of calcite, rhodonite, garnet, pyroxene, 
hornblende, magnetite and tremolite. This type is characteristic of the 
Franklin and Adirondack deposits of the northeastern metallographic 
province of the United States and is also found at Magdalena and Han- 
over, New Mexico and the Horn Silver mine, in Utah. 

(d) Metamorphosed deposits. Originally these may have been of 
any of the preceding types but are now disguised by regional metamor- 
phism. The best example is the important deposit of Ammeberg, Sweden. 
Blende there occurs disseminated in bands in gneissoid granulite, which 
also contains bands of disseminated pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The chief zinc ore deposits of the world are in the countries listed in 
the table below; the order of the countries is that of their importance 
in the industry in 1913, as nearly as can be estimated from incomplete 
data. 

The three major metallographic provinces of the world as indicated 
by present exploitation are those of Broken Hill, N.S.W., Silesia, and 
the Mississippi Valley. 

The condition of the zinc industry in the principal countries, in 1913, 
is shown in Table 59. 

United States. — The zinc deposits of the United States may be as- 
signed to three metallographic provinces, which in the order of their 
present importance are: the Mississippi Valley province; the Western 
province; and the Northeastern province. 

Judged by present knowledge, the Mississippi Valley province is 
one of the three major zinc-bearing metallographic provinces of the 
world. It occupies an area underlain with slightly disturbed Paleozoic 



298 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Table 58. — Chief Zinc-ore Deposits of the World 



Approximate 
order 



Country 



Percentage of 

world's production 

in 1913 



1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 



United States 

Germany 

Australia 

Italy 

Algeria 

Japan 

Spain 

Russia (including Russian Poland) 

France 

Greece 

Sweden 

Mexico 

Austria 

Tunis 

Indo-China (Tonkin) 

Great Britain 

China 

Bolivia 

Canada 

India (Burma) 

Egypt 

South Africa 

Peru 



35.0 
25.0 
15.0 

5.0 

3 

2 

2 

2 

1 

1 



1.0 
1.0 
1.0 
1.0 



limestone, ranging from Ordovician to Lower Carboniferous in age, 
that comprises most of the great mid-continental valley of the Mis- 
sissippi in the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, 
Kentucky, Wisconsin, Iowa, also Tennessee a;nd the western part of 
Virginia. Igneous rocks are generally absent. There are three principal 
subprovinces : the Ozark province, comprising Missouri, Oklahoma, 
Kansas, Arkansas; the upper Mississippi valley, comprising Wisconsin, 
Northern Illinois, and Iowa; and the regions of Tennessee and Virginia. 
In the Ozark subprovinces the Joplin district is most important. 
The ores lie at three horizons in flat-lying lower Carboniferous limestones. 
In the upper horizon, below the surface, the ore lies in clayey chert 
breccias, and galena predominates. The middle horizon, or "sheet 
ground/' carries mixed galena and blende, which cements brecciated 
chert. The ore is low grade, the average recovery of zinc being 1.9 per 
cent. This horizon has been the most important source of ore. The 
third and lowest horizon, as yet little exploited, contains disseminated 
ores. Thirty mills were busy in the Joplin district in 1918. The Athletic 
Mining & Smelting Co. was the largest producer, operating the Athletic 



ZINC 



299 



*§ 






o o o 
o o o 
o 10 o 

<tf rfT O 
rH CN 
CN 



o o o o 
o o o o 

o o o o 



o o o 
o o o 

O O iO 



o 
o 


o 
o 


o 
o 









o o o 
o o o 

O lO i(J 



o o 



o 


o o 


o 


o o 


o 


o >o 






w 


00 CN 


«o 






IM 



o o o 
o o o 

o o o 



o o o o o 

o o o o o 

©_ <o <o o q 

O "5 CO t)T CN 



o o_ o o_ 

tjh" oo © d 



o o o o 

o o o o 

iq CO 0__ 0_ 

CN CN CN CN 



0_ CD O O 

d * * t" 





© 


o o 




o 


o o 




o 


o »o 










co 


00 CN 




CO 


CN 



o o o o o 

o o o o o 

o o^ o o_ o 

co" io" CO Tf CN 





O 

O 


ooooooooo 
ooooooooo 




lO 


ooooooooo 


2 


"O 


C0O"*00C5Oi-Hi0CN 


o 


O «3 M H O Tf H rH 


co 


CN 



O O O O o o 
o o o o o o 
o o o o o »o 



as 



-t-> u 

.5 c-> 

O £ 

o ^ 

•5 fl 



V tn m j d 

+, +J . -H « H 



n o 



3 K 



S 

J*> 'So 

rt CO 

£ ffl 



a cu 

3 <D 



o a 






300 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

mine, at Duenweg, the Bertha A., at Webb City, and Mutual mine, at 
Oronogo. Miami Zinc Syndicate, affiliated with the Butte & Superior 
and American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co.; the Commerce Mining & 
Royalty Co.; the Century Zinc Co.; and the Tri-State Mining Co., are 
large operators. Much of the production is by lessees and small operators. 

In Arkansas the ores are of similar character and mode of occurrence 
and are found in the same formation and also in the Ordovician limestone. 
The Lavender Mining & Milling Co. is the largest operator and the 
production has been largely carbonate ores. 

The Upper Mississippi region comprises deposits in nearly horizontal 
limestones of Ordovician age. Three-fourths of the output of this 
district is made by five companies: the Mineral Point Zinc Co., a sub- 
sidiary of the New Jersey Zinc Co., with seven mines; the Vinegar 
Hill Zinc Co., with six mines; the Wisconsin Zinc Co., a subsidiary of the 
American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co., with four mines; the Frontier 
Mining Co., with five producing mines; and the Cleveland Mining Co., 
with two mines. Other important companies are Burr Mining Co., 
Block House Mining Co., M. & A. Mining Co., B. M. & B. Mining Co., 
and Oliver Mining Co., a subsidiary of the U. S. Steel Corporation. 
All of the mines are equipped with milling plants. The production of 
the district shows a steady growth. 

The zinc deposits of southwest Virginia and northeastern Tennessee 
occur as disseminated replacement breccia along crushed and faulted 
zones in folded Cambro-Ordovician limestones, and also as oxidized ores 
in clays residual from the weathering of the same limestones. The 
gangue is calcite and dolomite. The American Zinc Co. is the largest 
operator in Tennessee; it has a milling capacity of 3,000 tons daily and 
zinc-blende ore reserves greater than 6,000,000 tons averaging between 
4 and 5 per cent, zinc, from which 60 per cent, zinc-blende concen- 
trates are made. This company is a subsidiary of the American Zinc, 
Lead & Smelting Co. 

The Western province comprises most of the western states; it extends 
north into British Columbia and south into Mexico. The chief sub- 
provinces are those of Leadville, Butte, and Coeur d'Alene. 

The Leadville deposits are found in strata varying in age from Archean 
to Cretaceous, which have been intruded by igneous rocks. The ores 
are mainly replacements of limestone and occur in large masses. This 
district first became of importance in zinc production upon the recogni- 
tion of smithsonite and calamine in the large masses of oxidized ores. 
Of recent years sulphides form an increasing part of the production, now 
coming largely from deeper levels. The ores carry gold, silver, man- 
ganese, copper and sometimes bismuth. The United States Smelting 
Refining & Mining Co., the Empire Zinc Co., a subsidiary of the New 
Jersey Zinc Co.; the Western Mining Co., the Downtown Mines Co., the 



ZINC 301 

Wellington Mines Co., at Breckenridge ; and the Mary Murphy mine, at 
Chalk Creek, are the largest operators in this region. 

The Butte ores occur as veins in igneous rocks. The area in which 
zinc ores predominate surrounds that of important copper veins on three 
sides. On the border of the two areas, zinc-silver ores predominate in 
the upper levels and copper in the deeper workings. Many of the 
present zinc mines were formerly worked for silver. These complex zinc 
ores have been made available by the successful application of oil flota- 
tion and electrolytic deposition. The Black Rock mine of the Butte 
& Superior Mining Co., the Elm Orlu of W. A. Clark & Son, the Alice, 
and several other mines of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., and the 
North Butte Mining Co. are among the most important producers. 
The twelve mines yielding zinc in 1915 together have immense reserves. 
The ores all carry lead and silver and some pyrite, and many contain 
copper and gold. 

The Coeur d'Alene subprovince comprises a number of mining 
districts in Idaho, at least five being zinc producers. The Interstate- 
Callahan, in the Beaver district, is the largest zinc mine in the state. 
The ore is remarkable for the small percentage of minerals other than 
sphalerite, averaging 28 per cent. zinc. 

The Northeastern -province comprises important deposits at Franklin, 
New Jersey, and in the Adirondack Mountains in New York, and others 
of minor importance in the New England states. It is characterized 
by deposits of igneous metamorphic origin in Pre-Cambrian limestone. 
The Franklin deposits, in New Jersey, consist chiefly of franklinite, wille- 
mite and zincite in a gangue of calcite, rhodonite, garnet, pyroxene, 
magnetite and hornblende. Willemite is separated magnetically from 
these ores and used to produce a very high-grade spelter free from lead 
and cadmium and therefore in great demand for certain purposes. The 
other classes of ore are smelted for the production of zinc white and 
spiegeleisen. These mines, owned and operated by the New Jersey 
Zinc Co., have produced more than 1,500,000 tons of zinc in the form of 
spelter and zinc oxide. The Edwards-Balmat district, in St. Lawrence 
County, New York, comprises an area two to three miles wide and fifteen 
miles long, of Pre-Cambrian limestone. The ore occurs in lenses and is a 
mixture of sphalerite, pyrite and a little galena with a gangue of dolomite. 
Separation is effected by magnetic tables. The typical ore contains: 
sphalerite, 25.5 per cent.; galena, 1.43 per cent.; pyrite, 12.4 per cent.; 
barite, 3.9 per cent/ The ore reserves of the Northern Ore Co., the largest 
operator,, are known to exceed one million tons. 

Germany. — Imperial Germany comprised most of one metallographic 
province of major importance, Silesia, and other districts ranking as 
follows: Upper Silesia; Rhenish Prussia; Westphalia; Saxony; Hanover; 
and Nassau. 



302 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

The major part of the mineral province of Upper Silesia lay within 
the boundaries of Germany in 1914. Once it was part of the Kingdom of 
Poland, except for portions included in the old empires of Russia and 
Austria. The pre-war production of zinc ores from Russian Poland was 
entirely from this metallographic province. The deposits, which con- 
tain lead and zinc together, occur in Triassic formation overlying Car- 
boniferous rocks that carry important seams of coal. This juxtaposition 
of ore and fuel has furnished an ideal basis for the great smelting indus- 
try that has been developed, and facilitates the smelting of low-grade 
ores. The ores are said to average 17 per cent, zinc and 5 per cent. lead. 
They come from two ore horizons. The lower is characterized by blende, 
with a little galena and marcasite; the upper or lead horizon comprises 
a very persistent sheet of galena 0.05 to 0.30 meters thick, which gen- 
erally is underlain by red calamine. The blende deposits are extensive 
and will be productive for a long time. 

In Rhenish Prussia, zinc ore (smithsonite) deposits are found in strata 
of Devonian age. These deposits are approaching exhaustion. The 
chief zinc deposits of Westphalia are in Devonian strata. The historic 
mines at Freiberg (Erzgebirge) , in Saxony, produce a small quantity of 
blende from the concentration of galena ores. The blende carries con- 
siderable iron and silver and some of it contains traces of tin. These 
mines are controlled by the Saxon government. 

A considerable quantity of blende ore is concentrated as a by-product 
in the dressing of the lead ore of the Upper Harz, Hanover. The ore of 
Rammelsberg, in the Lower Harz, occurs in a bed interstratified with lower 
Devonian slates and sandstones; it is an intimate mixture of blende, 
galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and barite and some calcite and quartz. 
Zinc is produced as a by-product of lead ores in the valley of Lahn 
(Nassau) , where a series of strong veins are found in Lower Devonian strata. 

Australia. — The zinc resources of the Commonwealth of Australia are 
chiefly in New South Wales and Tasmania. The former has been the 
chief source of zinc in the past, but the Tasmania deposits are now being 
rapidly developed and equipped for production. 

The most important source of zinc ore in New South Wales is the 
great Broken Hill lode, where operations began in 1884. The country 
rock comprises crystalline schists and gneisses. Between the oxidized 
and primary sulphide ores was a thin zone of secondary sulphides. The 
early operations in the district were for lead, and immense dumps ac- 
cumulated of zinc-bearing ores sorted out or of zinc-bearing tailings from 
the concentration of the lead ores. In 1903 these dumps were estimated 
at 5,687,400 tons carrying 18.6 per cent. zinc. With the development of 
demand for zinc sulphide ores and of oil flotation methods of separation 
and concentration these dumps became important sources of zinc con- 
centrates, but many of them are approaching exhaustion. The sulphide 



ZINC 303 

ores are a close mixture of galena and zinc blende, carrying silver. 
There are two classes of these ores, distinguished as silicate-gangue ore, 
and calcite-gangue ore. The silicate gangue ore bodies carry rhodonite, 
garnet and quartz and are richer in zinc and silver than those of calcite 
gangue. 

Eight mining companies are now at work. In the order of the im- 
portance of their output and ore reserves, these companies are : Broken 
Hill South Silver Mining Co; Broken Hill North Mining Co.; Zinc Cor- 
poration; Sulphide Corporation; British Broken Hill Proprietary Co.; 
Broken Hill Proprietary Co., Block 10; and Broken Hill Proprietary Co., 
Block 14. The estimated ore reserves of all the mines approximate 
12,000,000 tons. 

The Broken Hill South Silver Mining Co. has ore reserves estimated 
at 3,350,000 tons, and is the largest producer. Broken Hill North, 
Amalgamated Zinc (de Bavay),Zinc Corporation, and Barrier South Ltd. 
are controlled by Govett and associates, a group of Australian capitalists. 
The Amalgamated Zinc Co. in 1913 treated 498,289 tons of tailings, ob- 
taining 140,098 tons zinc concentrates, carrying zinc, 48.9 per cent.; 
also lead concentrates amounting to 1,584 tons, carrying 57.1 per cent, 
lead. The Zinc Corporation, a company formed by Bewick, More- 
ing Co., has ore reserves estimated at 1,504,211 tons, averaging 14.8 
per cent, lead, 9.2 per cent, zinc, and 2.5 ounces of silver per ton. The 
mine of the Broken Hill Proprietary Co. is, according to last reports, 
nearly exhausted. 

The principal deposits of Tasmania are those of the Primrose, Hercu- 
les, and Tasmania Copper Mines, all owned by the Mount Reed Rose- 
bery Co., affiliated with the Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Co. The 
state geological staff estimates reserves at 1,272,500 tons averaging 29.79 
per cent, zinc, 8.89 per cent, lead, 12.16 ounces of silver and 0.17 ounces 
of gold per ton. 

Italy. — The zinc production of Italy is derived from the Iglesias 
district of Sardinia, and the Province of Bergamo. The Iglesias district 
is in the southeastern part of the island of Sardinia. The ores are oxidized 
and mostly worked by open pits. They are mined and milled by two 
Italian companies, Societa di Monteponi, and the Societa di Pertusola. 
The ores have usually been smelted in Germany, England or Belgium. 
The Bergamo mines, in the Province of Lombardy, are worked by the 
English Crown Spelter Co., which ships the ore to Swansea, Wales, for 
smelting. 

Algeria. — Algeria produced 82,256 tons of zinc ore in 1913. Of 
the 78,973 tons whose origin is known, 31 per cent, of the total was ex- 
tracted by Belgian companies and the remainder was produced by 
French operators. 

Japan. — The only important zinc-producing district in Japan is the 
Province of Hida. The principal companies are the Osaka Zinc Mining 



304 • POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

& Smelting Co., Takata & Co., the Rhuara Mining Co., and the Mitsui 
Mining Co. The largest producer is the Kamioka Mine of the last 
named, which produces annually about 10,000 tons. The Osaka Mining 
Co. also produces from Korea (Chosen) about 15,000 tons of ore annually. 

The annual smelting capacity in Japan, with all projected construc- 
tion completed, is estimated at 300,000 tons of zinc ore, whereas the 
domestic output of ore is about 50,000 tons. The difference has been 
imported chiefly from Siberia, China, Tonkin and Australia. In the 
future it is expected that the foreign ores will come chiefly from China 
and Siberia. The domestic spelter production has reached about 60,000 
tons annually and the domestic consumption 29,000 tons. 

Spain. — Zinc ores are produced in the provinces of Santander, Mur- 
cia, Tereul, Biscay and Guipuzcoa. The only district of importance is 
that of Santander, where there is a zinc smelter owned by the Compagnie 
Royale Asturienne des Mines (French). Some of the ore is smelted in 
France. Most of the Spanish ores are calamine and occur almost without 
exception in limestone. Eighty per cent, of the Spanish production 
comes from Santander and Murcia. In the latter the mines are worked 
primarily for lead. 

Russia. — The zinc output of the Russian Empire was derived from 
Russian Poland, eastern Siberia, the Altai Mountains in southwestern 
Siberia, and the northern Caucasus Mountains. The Polish deposits are 
part of the Silesian field. The ores are largely carbonates and silicates. 
Some of the mines and plants were owned by the Russian government, 
others apparently by French companies. In eastern Siberia, the Tyuti- 
cha mine has a calamine orebody containing at least 200,000 tons averag- 
ing 48 per cent. zinc. Some ore has come from the Ussurisk district. 
It is believed that the Mitsui Mining Co. has made arrangements to 
ship ores from this district to Japan for treatment. 

In the Altai Mountains of southwestern Siberia the Ridder Mining 
Co., controlled by the Irtysh Corporation, Ltd., of London, has developed 
two large deposits on the same mineralized zone, with ore reserves esti- 
mated in 1917 at over 3,500,000 tons. The possibilities of this property 
are immense. The company has acquired the Ekibastus coal fields, 
constructed about 165 miles of railroad and provided river transport, 
thus bringing the ore and coal together at a smelting plant having a 
capacity of 15,000 tons lead and 5,000 tons spelter annually. 

In the northern Caucasus Mountains, the Sadon mine, belonging to 
the Societe d'Alagir (French), has been worked for a long time. The 
ores from this mine are smelted locally. 

Other Countries. — The zinc-ore production of France comes from 
several scattered districts. Of the 45,929 long tons reported in 1912, 
nearly all came from six mines which are all controlled by French capital 
with perhaps some Belgian participation. 

The only important source of zinc in Greece is the famous Laurium 



ZINC 305 

deposit, which was worked in ancient times. The ancients, however, 
rejected, as far as possible, the zinc ores. These deposits are now con- 
trolled and operated by a French company, the Compagnie Francaise 
des Mines de Laurium, which also has reopened the ancient workings of 
Gebel Rosas, near the Red Sea, in Egypt. 

The chief zinc mines of Sweden are the Ammeberg, the Rylls Wytland 
and the Sala. At the Sala immense piles of tailings made in centuries of 
operation, containing quantities of zinc, can now be treated, as well as 
zinciferous areas left in mining silver-lead ores. The important 
Ammeberg deposit consists of bands and lenses of disseminated blende in 
gneissoid granulite and is exploited by the Societe de la Vieille Montagne 
(Belgian) . 

The zinc production of Mexico has come chiefly from the states of 
Nuevo Leon, Chihuahua and Sonora. Various zinc deposits have been 
worked in Nuevo Leon by German and American capital. Most of 
them are within 50 miles of Monterrey. Zinc-producing districts are 
scattered over the State of Chihuahua. In the Santa Eulalia district, 
El Potosi Mining Co., controlled by Americans, works the mine of the 
same name, which has carbonate ores to a depth of 1,700 feet. The 
Buena Tierra, in the same district, is controlled by British capital. The 
principal mines in the Parral district are owned by Americans and British 
companies, including the American Smelters Securities Co., American 
Zinc Extraction Co., and San Francisco Mines of Mexico, Ltd. (British). 
The Carnegie Lead & Zinc Co. owns the largest zinc mine in Sonora, 
located near Cananea. The Calumet & Arizona Co. and the Mexican 
Metal Co. own zinc deposits in the Arizpe district. All of these 
companies are American. 

Zinc ores are produced in Austria in the provinces of Carinthia, 
Styria, Carniole, Tyrol and Galicia. The Raibl and Schneeberg mines 
of Carinthia are government owned, and the ores are smelted at the 
government works at Cilli. Tyrolean ores were shipped to Frankfort-on- 
Main and Aix-la-Chapelle. Styrian ores were shipped to Silesia and 
Rhenish Prussia for smelting. 

The considerable production of calamine with some blende from Tunis 
is under French political and commercial control. The chief zinc ore 
producers appear to be French companies, in general paying a royalty of 
5 per cent, of the net proceeds to the government of Tunis. The total 
production for 1916 was 12,544 tons. 

Four districts of 1 ndo-China produce zinc ores with an aggregate total 
annual output of about 46,000 tons. 

The largest zinc mine in Great Britain is the Nenthead, in Cumberland, 
worked by the Societe de la Vieille Montagne (Belgian). The second 
largest producer is the Carshield mine, in Northumberland. With the 
exception of the Nenthead mine all the important producers are, so far 
as known, owned and operated by British capital, 

20 



306 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

The chief mine in China is the Shui K'ou Shan, under control of the 
Hunan Board of Mines. Prior to the war this mine was dominated by- 
German capital, which had provided machinery and shipped the product 
to Europe. Japanese have sought diligently and with partial success 
to secure control of this mine. 

The chief zinc-mining district in Bolivia is Huanchaca, the production 
of which has recently decreased because of great quantities of water 
entering the workings. The largest operator is the Compania Huan- 
chaca de Bolivia, the capital and control of which is French. Its zinc 
production is incidental, the principal metal produced being silver. 

The zinc production of Canada is chiefly from British Columbia, but 
a small amount is from Ontario and Quebec. The only production of 
any moment is from the southern part of British Columbia, where the 
Slocan district is of greatest importance. British, Canadian and Ameri- 
can capital are largely interested. In 1915, the mines of the Slocan dis- 
trict were estimated by the management of the Trail smelter to be 
capable of producing 10,000 to 15,000 tons of ore carrying 40 to 45 per 
cent. zinc. Apparently this was in addition to the possible production 
from the Sullivan mine, owned by the Consolidated Mining & Smelting 
Co., Ltd. (Trail smelter), which had proved reserves of 3,500,000 tons 
of galena-sphalerite ore. The principal mines of Ontario and Quebec 
produced 580 tons of zinc, or one-thirtieth of the production of Canada. 
These are operated at least in part by American capital, and the ores are 
smelted by the Zinc Co., Ltd., owned by Americans. 

The chief deposits of India are those of the Bawdwin mines, located 
in the Northern Shan States (Burma). There was estimated December 
31, 1917, 4,033,000 tons lead-zinc ore assaying 24.7 oz. silver, 27.4 per 
cent, lead, and 19.1 per cent. zinc. The essential constituents of the 
ores are galena and sphalerite with a little pyrite and chalcopyrite. The 
lead and zinc concentrates are available for the customary methods of 
smelting. A zinc-distilling and sulphuric acid plant is being constructed 
at Sakohi, with the aid of the Indian government, to treat the table zinc 
concentrate. The company operates a lead smelter at Nam-Tu, 11 
miles from the mines. The Bawdwin deposits may be expected to be an 
important factor in the world's production of zinc in the immediate 
future. They are owned by the Burma Mines, Ltd., an English corpora- 
tion of the R. Tilden Smith-Govett-Hoover interests, in which some 
American capital is interested. 

The only zinc deposit of note in Egypt is the Gebel Rosas, operated 
by the Compagnie Francaise de Laurium. This deposit is located near 
the Red Sea and was worked in ancient times. 

The only deposit of importance in South Africa is the Rhodesia Broken 
Hill. The large ore bodies are, so far as developed, almost wholly 
oxidized. One ore body is estimated at 250,000 long tons, averaging 26 



ZINC 307 

per cent, lead, 22j£ per cent, zinc, and another at 300,000 long tons, 
averaging 32 per cent, zinc, with little lead, but much iron oxide and 
carbonate. They are controlled by British capital. Considerable 
difficulty has been experienced in developing a commercial treatment. 

In Peru a French company, the Association Miniere, has interests in 
the Compagnie des Mines de Huaron. 



DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBU- 
TION IN THE NEAR FUTURE 

So far as information is available no marked change in the rate of 
production in the countries of Europe and northern Africa seems prob- 
able. Most of the districts in those countries have been exploited over 
a long period and have passed their zenith of production; many are ap- 
proaching exhaustion. The decrease in most of them will, however, be 
gradual. The most important change in Europe probably will be the 
transfer to Polish jurisdiction of the whole of the Silesian field, making 
the new state of Poland, if established as proposed, the largest single 
source of zinc ore in Europe. 

In the United States, which will continue to be the largest producer of 
zinc in the world, the greatest increase in relative importance may be 
expected from the western metallographic province, particularly in the 
northwest, in the Butte and Coeur d'Alene districts. The Leadville 
district has already passed the zenith of production and has dropped to 
second place after Butte, which is capable of still further increase. 

In Australia the Broken Hill district may be expected to yield about 
450,000 tons of concentrates annually for some three years, after which 
the output should drop to about 300,000 tons. The increase of pro- 
duction from Tasmania will largely depend upon the construction of 
electrolytic zinc plants, but the island will be a factor in production in 
the immediate future. 

The greatest new factor in the world's output of zinc will be the Bawd- 
win mines, in Burma, which within a short time will be equipped to produce 
about 300,000 tons of ore annually or about 75,000 tons of high-grade 
zinc concentrates and 100,000 tons of low-grade concentrates or middlings 
for treatment by the Ganlin process. The extent to which the zinc 
concentrates from this ore will be treated in India will be determined by 
the development of the local market for sulphuric acid. The remainder 
of the concentrates will be treated in England. 

Recent developments in the Altai Mountains of southwestern Siberia 
have proved immense bodies of complex zinc-lead ores. The extent 
of their exploitation will, however, be determined largely by the extent 
of the Russian market as affected by social and political conditions. 
Removal of the stringent tariff on importations from abroad to the manu- 



308 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

facturing centers of Warsaw, Petrograd and Moscow might greatly 
restrict the market for the output of these mines. Their extreme geo- 
graphic isolation will prevent the deposits from becoming an important 
factor in the world market for a long period, notwithstanding their large 
size and excellent grade. 

The utilization of the Rhodesia Broken Hill deposit in South Africa 
will be delayed by the difficulty of separating the oxidized lead and zinc 
minerals, the lack of fuel, and geographic and commercial isolation. 

POLITICAL CONTROL 

Political control of the zinc resources of the world up to the outbreak 
of the war in 1914 seems to have had only a minor effect upon the indus- 
try. Economic factors made ineffective any control not international 
in scope. A very large percentage of the zinc ores of the world were 
transported from the country of production to another for treatment, in 
some cases even being re-exported, sometimes after calcination, for the 
purpose of utilizing the sulphur content in the production of acid. Tariffs 
were imposed by some countries, as, for example, by the United States, 
on certain classes of zinc ores. Such measures had some effect on pro- 
duction in Mexico and Canada. Russia had imposed heavy import 
duties which subsidized domestic production and stimulated exploration 
and development. The chief European countries importing and smelting 
zinc ores admitted them free of duty. 

During the World War, however, political jurisdiction was largely 
invoked to restore control of national resources to citizens of the given 
country or its allies. This movement was particularly marked in the 
British Empire, wherein there now exists a joint political and commercial 
control. Alien interests have been eliminated by government action 
and the government retains a share in the control through interests in 
marketing organizations or through financial participation in treatment 
works. Canada has established a small bounty on zinc produced in 
Canada from domestic ores and given financial aid to attempts to es- 
tablish domestic smelting and refining plants. 

In the United States the Alien Property Custodian has been active 
in eliminating all alien enemy control. His appointees will control 
many important companies for several years. Such action as has 
been taken does not appear to have disturbed such centralization of 
control as had been effected. 1 

COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

Copper, lead and zinc form a class by themselves as regards industrial 
utility and tonnage produced, ranking after iron, which far outclasses 

1 See Chapter on Copper, pages 232-235, for discussion of German interests in the 
American metal trade. 



ZINC 309 

them, as the most important base metals. The annual production of 
each is considerably more than a million tons. In view of the industrial 
importance of zinc and the fact that brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, 
is an indispensable material in modern industry, it is not strange that the 
great industrial nations have contrived many expedients in the endeavor 
to control the zinc industry. 

The ownership and operative control of the mines has been a minor 
factor in the commercial control of this industry. Economic factors 
force the location of retort smelting plants in industrial districts adjacent 
to coal fields, the most important factors being availability and cost of 
fuel and labor, and proximity to a market for spelter. A lack of fuel and 
scarcity or high cost of labor has prevented smelting in some regions 
producing considerable ore. On the other hand, the smelting done in 
some countries has been entirely disproportionate to their ore output. 
The revival of nationalist sentiment as a result of the World War may 
make ownership and operative control a more important factor in the 
future. 

Electrolytic and electro-thermic reduction of ores makes possible the 
economic production of spelter where previously impossible and may 
bring about some decentralization of the industry. 

Ownership or control of the reduction plants has been an important 
basis for control of the industry. The most effective control has been 
exercised through marketing organizations or trade combinations of 
reduction works, ore-buying and metal-selling agencies, with interlocking 
directorates, joint ownership and long-term contracts for ores, concen- 
trates and metals. In recent years these became world-wide in their 
scope and completely dominated the industry. 

United States. — Below are listed the most important zinc smelting 
companies in the United States, together with the percentage of the total 
reduction capacity that each controls : 

Percentage of 
production controlled 

New Jersey Zinc Co 13.4 

American Metal Co 15.2 

Grasselli Chemical Co 10.1 

Anaconda Copper Mining Co 10.0 

United States Steel Corporation 7.7 

American Smelting & Refining Co 7.2 

American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co 5.7 

Beer, Sondheimer & Co 4.7 

L. Vogelstein & Co 1.7 

Various independents or of unknown affiliation 24 . 3 

The close affiliations of L. Vogelstein & Co., Beer, Sondheimer & 
Co., the American Metal Co., and their subsidiary companies, comprising 
27.3 per cent, of the smelting capacity, and various ore producers, with 



310 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

their metal-selling contracts with other smelters, enabled them to domi- 
nate the American metal market in the interest of the German "Trio. " 
The Alien Property Custodian took over all three companies during the 
war and eliminated all alien-enemy ownership and control by disposing of 
German-owned stock at auction. 

The American Metal Co. completely owns the American Zinc & 
Chemical Co., South American Metal Transport Co., Bartlesville Zinc 
Co., and South American Metal Co.; it has large holdings of stock in the 
Ohio and Colorado Smelting & Refining Co., Compafiia Minera de Pefi- 
oles, Compafiia de Minerales y Metales, Compafiia Metalurgica de 
Torreon, Compafiia Minera Palmo y Cabrillos, Fundicion de Guayacan, 
Balbach Smelting & Refining Co., and Nichols Copper Co., some of 
which operate in Mexico and South America. The capital stock of the 
American Metal Co. comprised 70,000 shares, of which 34,644 were owned 
by aliens affiliated with the German "Trio"; 18,620 shares belong to 
American citizens who have had control of the management, and the 
remainder belonged to the Merton interests, of London, which has been 
reorganized by the British government, eliminating alien ownership. 
The alien-owned shares have been sold by the Alien Property Custodian 
and the control of the business for a period of five years was vested in a 
board of five trustees named by him. 

The National Zinc Co. was owned by Beer, Sondheimer & Co., one 
of the German "Trio, " which also owned other metal-producing com- 
panies in the United States and Cuba. 

The operative control of the American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co. has 
been acquired by the Butte & Superior Mining Co., dominated by Hay den, 
Stone & Co., of New York and Boston. A large interest in the American 
Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co. was held by L. Vogelstein & Co., formerly 
the representative of the German Metallgesellschaft in the United States. 
The American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co. controls the Wisconsin Zinc 
Co.; the American Zinc Co., of Illinois; the American Zinc Co., of Ten- 
nessee; and the American Zinc Ore Separating Co. 

The New Jersey Zinc Co., an American concern, controls the New 
Jersey field, and, through its subsidiary, the Empire Zinc Co., owns and 
operates a number of mines in the western states and Mexico, and the 
Mineral Point Zinc Co., of Wisconsin, one of the three largest producers 
in that region, and four zinc smelters. 

The Anaconda company operates a number of zinc-producing mines 
in the Butte district and has erected electrolytic plants for the treatment 
of its own concentrates, one of 25-tons' capacity as an experimental plant 
at Anaconda and a plant of 200-tons' daily capacity at Great Falls, 
Montana. It has treated some of the production of other companies, 
notably of the Butte & Superior Mining Co. It is an American company 
under American control but has many European stockholders. 



ZINC 311 

Germany. — The ambition of German commercial interests to control 
the metal markets and resources of the world was more nearly realized 
in the case of zinc than of any other metal. 

The German Zinc Syndicate (Zinkhuttenverband) was organized in 
1909, by three powerful interests: (1) The Merton group, comprising 
the Metallgesellschaft, the Metallbank and Metallurgische Gesellschaft, 
all of Frankfurt, and the Merton companies of London; (2) Beer, Sond- 
heimer & Co., which through the Tellus stock company controlled over a 
dozen metal and chemical concerns; and (3) Aron Hirsch & Sohn, at Hal- 
berstadt; and was immediately joined by all the important Silesian and 
Rhenish- Westphalian zinc concerns. The organizers were made exclu- 
sive selling agencies for the syndicate and purchases from any foreign 
sources were made in unison. The syndicate immediately made agree- 
ments with Austrian and Belgian producers including the Vieille Monta- 
gne, which has mines, works and agencies in many parts of the world. 
It was also joined by a Dutch concern, Zincs de la Campine. The 
syndicate embraced altogether 18 firms and regulated both their output 
and prices. By the end of 1912 this German syndicate controlled direct- 
ly one-half of the world's output of zinc and three-fourths of the 
European production. 

Two Belgian and some French works formed another syndicate. A 
third was formed by six English works, and the competition of United 
States firms drove all three into the International Zinc Syndicate, which 
endured up to April, 1914. The International regulated the output of its 
members but did not fix exact prices. Through the American Metal Co., 
and affiliated companies, the German syndicate was rapidly becoming a 
factor of importance in the control of American, Mexican, and Austra- 
lian zinc production at its source. The German syndicate maintained its 
dominancy and was rapidly extending and strengthening it throughout 
the world through banks, holding companies, affiliations with syndicates 
and cartels, interlocking directorates, and joint shareholdings. 

As a result of the war, the Australian zinc concentrates are perma- 
nently diverted from German reduction works, arid all German control is 
eliminated. The activities of the Alien Property Custodian have tended 
to eliminate German interests in the United States. The re-establish- 
ment of the nation of Poland may take from Germany all the Silesian 
deposits and reduction plants, leaving only those of the Rhenish- Westpha- 
lian, Harz and Erzgebirge regions, with only one-third the former do- 
mestic production of ore. Poland should be twice as important as 
Germany in the zinc industry, unless Germany should be able to import 
ores and concentrates on a large scale. 

Australia. — At the outbreak of the World War the Australian zinc 
industry was in the grip of the great German zinc syndicate, described in 
more detail above under " Germany." This controlled the world's 



312 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

spelter market, determined output and prices and manipulated the mar- 
ket in the interests of Germany. This was possible through long-term 
contracts for zinc concentrates, in which form nearly the whole zinc prod- 
uct was exported for reduction in Belgium and Germany. Only 10 per 
cent, of the concentrates was smelted at Port Pirie or in England. 

During the war these contracts were cancelled by the Australian 
and British governments and the work of reconstructing the industry on a 
purely Australian and British basis was undertaken, the idea being to 
provide for the treatment, so far as possible, of all ores in Australia, so 
that they could be marketed in their finished state. The Australian 
government first formed a metals exchange, through which all metals 
produced in Australia must pass for sale. The Zinc Producers' Associa- 
tion Proprietary, Ltd., was registered May 20, 1916, in Victoria, Australia, 
to market products of the member companies producing zinc ores, con- 
centrates, and metals in the Commonwealth of Australia and Tasmania, 
all of which have sold their entire output to the association for fifty 
years. The shares, 100,000 of £1 each, are held by the following com- 
panies: Amalgamated Zinc (DeBavay's); Broken Hill Proprietary, Block 
14; Zinc Corporation; Broken Hill Proprietary; Electrolytic Zinc Smelt- 
ers; Junction North; North Broken Hill; Sulphide Corporation; British 
Broken Hill; Broken Hill Associated Smelters; Broken Hill Junction; 
Broken Hill South Silver; Broken Hill Proprietary, Block 10; Mount 
Lyell Mining & Railway Co. 

The Australian federal government, acting through the Zinc Pro- 
ducers 7 Association, contracted to sell to the British government the 
whole output of zinc concentrates in Australia for the period of the war 
and ten years thereafter. Previously the Prime Minister had contracted 
for the sale to the imperial government of 100,000 tons of zinc concen- 
trates and 45,000 tons of electrolytic zinc and spelter for ten years. The 
arrangement provided for the British government taking the stocks of 
zinc concentrates on hand December 31, 1917, less a definite percentage 
reserve, and thereafter 250,000 tons per annum for the period of the war, 
and 300,000 tons annually for the following nine years. Provision was also 
made for supplying the requirements of the Australian zinc-refining 
works and the fulfilling of Japanese contracts during the period covered 
by the British contract. Under normal conditions the Australian output 
of zinc concentrates, averaging from 46 to 48 per cent, zinc, is about 
450,000 tons per annum, valued at $25,000,000. 

The effect of the above arrangements is to transfer permanently the 
control of the Australian zinc industry from German to British citizens 
under a system jointly commercial and political. The mines and works 
always were owned by British and Australian capital. 

The Zinc Producers' Association is co-operative in character, guaran- 
teeing to all members equality of treatment irrespective of tonnage. 



ZINC 313 

The commonwealth is represented on the board. The federal govern- 
ment is also encouraging in every possible way the establishment of 
reduction works, particularly electrolytic zinc works. It has been 
reported that the Burma Corporation was a stockholder of the Zinc 
Producers' Association, but this report has not been satisfactorily con- 
firmed. In case it should be true the association may ultimately control 
the sale of 85 to 95 per cent, of the zinc ores of the British Empire. Hav- 
ing smelting capacity for a considerable part of their production and 
acting as a unit in selling the surplus, the Australian zinc producers 
should hereafter be in a strong position in dealing with German, Dutch 
and Belgian smelters. The smelting capacity will not be largely increased 
in the near future. 

France. — The nationalist movement in France during the war resulted 
in the formation of trade associations known as " consortiums/ ' compris- 
ing the principal factor in each industry. 1 

POSITION OF THE GREAT NATIONS 

Since the elimination of the alien-enemy interests in the American 
Metal Co., L. Vogelstein & Co., and Beer, Sondheimer & Co., the indus- 
try in the United States is controlled and the mines and works are owned 
by American capital, which also controls some zinc production in Mexico, 
Canada and Peru. Future production and consumption will probably 
balance as before the war. There is now excess smelting capacity, but 
it has been conclusively demonstrated that the country is capable of 
supplying the ore for even greater capacity. The United States will 
retain first place as a producer.' During the period of readjustment 
some concentrates may be shipped to Belgium and Holland. 

With the permanent diversion of the Australian concentrates, and 
the probable loss of the Silesian deposits and reduction works, Germany 
will lose its second place in the industry. With only the Rhenish, West- 
phalian, Harz, and Erzgebirge districts as sources of domestic ores, the 
supply will be reduced to one-third of that produced before 1914, which 
was only two-thirds of all the ore smelted in the country. Unless ores 
or concentrates can be imported, Germany will be only a small factor 
in zinc production. Whereas in 1912 Germany had 50,000 tons of spelter 
available for export, importation may now be necessary. As a result of 
the treaty of peace the Polish industry may be dominated by French 
capital. 

Not over 5 per cent, of the ore smelted in Belgium is of domestic 
production. The mines are owned by French and German companies. 
The works are owned by French, Belgian and Germans in about equal 

1 For a description of the consortium covering the mineral industry, the Societe" 
Minerais et Metaux, see the Chapter on Lead, pages 284 and 285. 



314 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

proportions. Part of the Australian concentrates will be allotted to 
Belgium for smelting. The largest single factor in the Belgian industry, 
the Societe de la Vieille Montagne, owned and worked mines in Belgium, 
Moresnet, Germany, Sweden, England, Algiers and Tunis and reduction 
works in Belgium, Germany and France. Although formerly a member 
of the German zinc convention this company seems to be controlled by 
Belgian capital affiliated with the strongest Belgian financial interests. 
Several other Belgian companies have important interests in France, 
Spain, Algiers, and Tunis. Close affiliation seems to exist, and may 
be expected to continue, between French and Belgian capital in the zinc 
industry. 

Let us now consider the British Empire. The domestic production 
of zinc ores in the British Isles is insignificant, but the smelting works 
have made England an important factor in the industry, although before 
1914 they produced only 32 per cent, of the zinc consumption of the 
empire. The capacity of these works, which are British owned, has been 
largely increased and new plants are being constructed to treat the con- 
centrates from Australia and Burma, from which sources a supply more 
than sufficient is assured by the contracts of the imperial government with 
the Zinc Producers' Association of Australia. The imperial goverment 
is interested in some of the plants. Reduction plants will also be in 
operation in Australia, Tasmania, India, and Canada. The excess 
Australian concentrates are to be allotted to French and Belgian works. 
With the organization now in effect, British domination of the European 
zinc industry seems certain. 

The mines and works of Australia are entirely controlled by English 
and Australian capital. An organization under Australian government 
control has been made the sole marketing agency for the producers. 
The mines of India and Burma are English controlled and the smelter 
being constructed at Sakchi is partly financed by the Indian government. 
The mines of Canada are mostly British owned, although there are some 
American interests. The potential capacity of the mines is large. In 
spite of government subsidies, the capacity and future of the reduction 
works is uncertain. 

French capital controls all the domestic works and mines of France; 
also those of Greece, Indo-China, Tunis, most of the mines of Algiers, 
where some Belgian capital is also interested, part of the Belgian and 
Polish mines and reduction works, some of the Spanish mines and smelters, 
and probably the Caucasus mines in Russia. France should be an im- 
portant factor in the industry during the near future. 

The largest mines of Italy are owned by Italian companies and some 
domestic reduction works are under construction by them. The chief 
producing company in northern Italy is English. 

In Japan, Japanese capital owns all the domestic mines and works; 
also those of Chosen (Korea), and is rapidly securing control of the 



ZINC 315 

deposits of China and eastern Siberia. The present smelting capacity 
is greater than domestic consumption and much larger than the domestic 
ore supply. Ore is imported from China, Siberia, Indo-China and 
Australia. 

As to Russia, the ownership of deposits in the Polish regions was 
divided between Russians and French before 1914, and this condition 
presumably will be restored, modified by Polish political control. The 
Russian interests were doubtless under German influence. The Altai 
Mountains region is controlled by British capital and its development 
depends wholly upon how internal social and political conditions affect 
the domestic market to which the product of this region is limited by 
geographic isolation. Eastern Siberia seems to be rapidly coming under 
the commercial control of the Japanese. 

Holland has no mines but has considerable smelting capacity. It is 
dependent on its neighbors for coal also. Its future is difficult to forecast. 
The mines and works of Spain are largely under French and Belgian 
control, which may be modified by contracts with English interests. 
The control in Norway and Sweden is not definitely known. It is nomi- 
nally by local capital but some English and German interests are prob- 
able. The Sulphide and the Zinc corporations, both British, are 
reported interested in the Hydraulic Power & Smelting Co. 

The mines and works in Austria, which were owned by the Austrian 
government and Austrian companies, perhaps under German domination, 
will now be distributed among two or three political jurisdictions. Little 
ore is imported or exported, and the region as a whole is not an important 
factor in the industry. 

The mines in Mexico are largely owned by Mexicans and Americans. 
German control is reported to be strong and growing. The possibilities 
of ore production are large. 

SUMMARY 

The essential uses of zinc are: in brass, the alloy with copper, an in- 
dispensable material in modern industry; in galvanizing as rolled sheets; 
and in desilverizing lead bullion. The consumption is greatest in gal- 
vanizing. The amount used in the form of rolled sheets will increase. 

Zinc and lead are commonly associated in their ores and are widely 
distributed over the world, but the countries of largest ore production 
are, in order, United States, Germany, and Australia. Burma will soon 
be of importance. Siberia can produce much ore in the near future, 
but exploitation will be retarded by political conditions and geographic 
isolation. Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Bolivia may be expected 
to increase their output. 

The successful commercial application of electro-magnetic, electro- 
static, and more especially oil flotation processes to the separation and 
concentration of complex ores has made available vast resources, adding 



316 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

to the list of regions of ore production and materially affecting their 
relative importance. 

Economic factors, particularly availability and cost of fuel and skilled 
labor in retort smelting and market for spelter, determined the location 
of reduction works in populous industrial districts adjacent to coal fields. 
The mineral resources, however, in many instances occur in countries 
either undeveloped industrially or without abundant and cheap fuel, and , 
a large percentage of the zinc ores are transported from the producing 
country to another for treatment. In the order of their importance the 
countries making the most spelter are: the United States, Germany, 
Belgium, Great Britain and France. 

Commercial control of the industry has been based chiefly on the con- 
trol of reduction plants and ore-buying and metal-selling organizations 
rather than on ownership of deposits, and to be effective it necessarily 
became international in scope. Before 1914 an organization, apparently 
international in character, but really dominated by Germans, had 
through control on this basis achieved a commanding position in the 
industry, influencing output and prices quite effectively. During 
the World War, however, political jurisdiction was largely invoked to 
restore control of the resources of a country and industries to citizens of 
that country or its allies. This movement has been particularly marked 
in the British Empire, wherein there now exists a joint political and 
commercial control through the Zinc Producers' Association and con- 
tracts in which the governments are participants, and in France, where 
the Societe Minerais et Metaux, under government auspices, comprises 
all the principal mining and metallurgical companies controlled by 
French capital and is the arbiter of the metal industry . 

A decentralization of the industry and redistribution of reduction 
works is to some extent resulting from the successful application of elec- 
trolytic reduction and to the dissemination of knowledge of the practice 
of retort smelting. 

The British Empire as a unit should be able to dominate the industry 
in Europe during the near future. France, through political and com- 
mercial control of Algeria and Tunis, and large financial control in Bel- 
gium, Spain and Poland, will be in a strong position. Belgium, with minor 
but widespread financial interests in mines and works in France, Ger- 
many, England, Sweden, Spain, Algiers and Tunis, is an important factor 
in the European situation. Its interests appear closely affiiliated with 
those of France. The United States, with large reduction capacity and 
ore reserves, while maintaining its position as largest producer, is ex- 
pected to supply domestic consumption but to export little, as was the 
case prior to the war. The position of Germany will depend mainly 
upon the supply of foreign ore, which may have to be imported largely 
from Mexico and the United States. 



CHAPTER XVII 
TIN 

By James M. Hill 1 
USES OF TIN 

Tin, ordinarily considered one of the minor metals, is nevertheless a 
metal of prime importance in the world's present state of development. 
In 1913 the value of the world's output of tin was $131,000,000, which was 
greater than the value of the world's output of either lead or zinc. With- 
out tin it is very doubtful if the present methods of food packing and 
distribution could have been accomplished. The principal use of tin 
is in the manufacture of tin plate, from which are fabricated the so-called 
"tins" or "tin cans" that everyone knows. The second largest con- 
sumption of tin is for the alloys, solder and babbitt made with lead, and 
brass and bronzes made with copper. Minor amounts of tin are used for 
making fine metal tubing, tin foil, and collapsible tubes for packing such 
materials as dental and toilet creams, artists colors, etc. Tin is con- 
sumed by the makers of silk, principally to give weight and "rustle" to 
their product. 

In 1917 the consumption of tin in the United States was approxi- 
mately 93,000 tons, 2 of which 19,000 tons was recovered from scrap 
materials. Of the total consumption 31,000 short tons was used for 
making tin plate, 20,400 short tons for solder, 13,800 short tons for 
bearing metals, (babbitt, bronzes, etc.,), and 27,700 short tons for the 
many minor uses, items of which are 1,000 tons for the silk industry , 5,000 
tons for foil, 4,000 tons for collapsible tubes, 3,000 tons for white metal. 

It is difficult to distinguish between the essential and the non-essential 
uses of tin in the industries. Surely tin plate is essential, yet some saving 
of tin containers was made during the war shortage by curtailing the use 
of tin and substituting paper and other substances for packages carrying 
non-perishable products. Solders, bearing metals, and bronzes are un- 
questionably essential, but variation in alloy specifications made possible, 
during the war period, a considerable saving of tin without detriment to 

1 The writer hereby expresses his thanks to Adolph Knopf, of the United States 
Geological Survey, and R. R. Horner, of the United States Bureau of Mines, for their 
assistance in the preparation of this article. 

2 In this report the figures for tons refer to metric tons (2,204 pounds avoirdupois) 
unless otherwise stated, and are given in round numbers because errors in statistics 
and in conversion do not warrant closer figuring. 

317 



318 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

the results. In fact some of the standards set under the emergency were 
superior to those used before. Aluminum foil is to some extent replacing 
tin foil, but no suitable substitutes have been found for tin in the manu- 
facture of collapsible tubes, which are necessities. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

Over 70 per cent, of the tin produced in the world is won from placer 
deposits, although in the last few years the exploitation of tin-bearing 
lodes has become of considerable importance. Tin ores are intimately 
connected with siliceous igneous rocks. Practically all of the known 
lode deposits are either in or lie near siliceous igneous rocks such as granite, 
granite-porphyry, quartz-porphyry or monzonitic types. In Mexico 
and the United States unimportant tin deposits have been found in 
rhyolite. In only one or two places in the world are tin lodes known 
where siliceous igneous rocks do not show on the surface, and in these 
places geologic evidence points to the presence of granitic rocks at no 
great depth. In the world's chief centers of tin production — the Malay 
Peninsula, Bolivia, Australia, Nigeria, Cornwall, and South Africa — the 
granitic rocks are everywhere in evidence, and the tin lodes are so closely 
related to these granites that there is no question of their origin. 

Fluorine-bearing minerals such as fluorite and topaz, tourmaline, 
and the tungsten mineral, wolframite, are found in practically all tin 
deposits. Molybdenite and bismuth minerals are present in many tin 
deposits, though their distribution is not so general as that of the former 
minerals. Copper, lead, zinc, and iron sulphides, the latter often arseni- 
cal, are common in tin lodes, and quartz and feldspar are the chief gangue 
minerals. 

It is generally accepted that the tin lodes were formed near the close 
of intrusive activity by the final differentiates of the acid magmas. 
These final solutions are notable for their pneumatolitic action and their 
ability to cause the profound change of granite to greisen and the forma- 
tion of stanniferous pegmatite and quartz veins. Greisen, an altera- 
tion product of granite, consists of quartz, mica and varying amounts of 
topaz and tourmaline. It is commonly developed along fractures, and 
in favorable places large masses of rock may be greisenized. 

Tin deposits are most often found as lodes, both fissure and pegma- 
titic, or stockworks, but some segregations are known. A peculiar pipe- 
like form of deposit is found at places in the Transvaal and Tasmania. 

Generally tin deposits lie close to the contact of intrusive and intruded 
rocks and are mainly found near the top of the intruding mass. It 
therefore follows that in deeply eroded granite masses the chance of find- 
ing lode tin deposits is smaller than where search is made in the tops of 
granitic intrusions. It has also been noted that deposits in intruded 



TIN 319 

rocks generally lie where the dip of the intrusive contact is low and are 
rarely present along a steeply dipping intrusive contact. 

Practically the sole ore mineral of tin is cassiterite (tin oxide) , which 
carries 78.6 per cent, of the metal. Cassiterite is known commercially 
by various names, such as tinstone, black-oxide of tin, black tin, or, 
where it occurs in placers, stream tin. The tin concentrates from placer 
mining normally carry 60 to 75 per cent, metallic tin, 70 per cent, being 
a fair average. The concentrates from the mills treating Bolivian lode 
tin make a product called barilla that averages about 62 per cent, tin; 
the concentrates produced from lodes in Cornwall average about 65 per 
cent.; and from the lodes and placers of the Malay Peninsula carry 
about 72 per cent. tin. 

In many parts of the world the lodes do not carry sufficient tin to be 
worked profitably. In Cornwall and in Tasmania, lodes carrying about 
1 per cent, of tin are being mined; but in general a content of 1 to 2 per 
cent, tin is the lower limit for commercial lode mining. In Bolivia the 
tin lodes average 5 to 8 per cent, tin and some bodies of ore carrying as 
much as 40 per cent, tin have been opened. In the places where low- 
grade tin ores have been mined the by-products, principally arsenic and 
wolfram, have helped to pay expenses, and most of these mines are 
advantageously situated with respect to transportation and supplies. 
In the placers of the Malay Peninsula, including Banca and Billiton, and 
those of Australia, which are worked by dredges, the tin content ranges 
from one-half pound to as high as 3 pounds, but averages less than a 
pound of cassiterite to the cubic yard. Advantageous location and cheap 
labor make profitable exploitation possible. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

As will be seen from the map, Plate IX, tin deposits are found in every 
part of the world, though an inspection of Table 60 and figure 9 will show 
that the deposits within the British Empire are the most important 
sources of the world supply. Bolivia and the Dutch East Indies have 
been the chief producers of tin outside of the British Empire, though 
China and Siam are steadily gaining importance as tin producers. 

British Empire. — The British Empire has tin deposits in England, 
Asia, Australia, and Africa. The largest production is from the deposits 
in the Malay Peninsula. The African deposits, those in Nigeria and the 
South African Union, yield the second largest output of the empire, the 
Australian deposits rank third, and the Cornwall deposits, formerly the 
largest producer of tin in the world, now rank fourth. 

Malay Peninsula. — The Federated Malay States and the British 
Protected Malay States occupy the southern end of the Malay Peninsula. 
This region, which is entirely British controlled, produced for many years 



320 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 




TIN 



321 



140,000 



ftes*. 



ALL OTHERS 



BOLIV/A 




CORNWALL 



1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 

Fig. 9. — World production of tin, 1913-1918, in metric tons. 
Table 60. — World's Output of Metallic Tin, 1913-1918, in Metric Tons 1 

(Metal obtainable by smelting from concentrates) 



Country 


1913 


1914 


1915 


1916 


1917 


1918 


Cornwall 


5,370 
2,950 
2,050 
50,930 
1,800 
8,160 


5,140 
4,590 
2,000 
49,820 
2,700 
5,520 


5,060 
4,630 
2,050 
47,520 
4,170 
5,680 


4,770 
5,150 
1,900 
44,570 
4,450 
5,550 


4,000 
7,070 
1,540 
40,470 
4,500 
4,970 


4,000 




7,000 


Union of South Africa 


1,500 


Federated Malay States 


37,970 


British Protected Malay States 


4,500 


Australia 


4,900 


Total British Empire 


71,260 
52.6 

15,940 
5,300 


69,770 
54.1 

14,630 
6,090 


69,110 
53.7 

13,660 
6,760 


66,390 
52. 

14,460 
6,780 


62,550 
47. 

13,540 
7,300 


59,870 


Percentage world total 


45.8 


Banca 

Billiton and Singkep 


11,000 
9,200 






Total Dutch 


21,240 
15.4 

8,390 
6,660 

26,760 
1,400 

43,210 
32. 


20,720 
16.1 

7,120 

6,740 
22,360 

1,500 
37,720 

29.8 


20,420 
15.4 

8,000 

8,520 
21,900 

1,500 
39,920 

30.9 


21,240 
16.7 

7,630 

8,960 
21,330 

1,700 
39,620 

31.3 


20,840 
16. 

11,800 
8,600 

28,320 
1,800 

50,520 
38. 


20,200 


Percentage world total 


15.5 


China 


12,000 


Siam 


8,600 


Bolivia 


28,000 


Other countries 


2,000 


Total other control 


50,600 


Percentage world total 


38.7 






World total 


135,710 


128,210 


129,450 


127,250 


133,910 


130,670 





1 Knopf, A., 
in 1918." 



Tin in 1918," U. S. Geological Survey, " Mineral Resources of the United States 



one-half of the world's output of tin, but in the last few years the output 
has declined steadily. The decline seems to be due to the exhaustion 



21 



322 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

of the easily worked placer deposits, though in 1917 and 1918 an addi- 
tional cause was the scarcity of labor. 

The largest tin-smelting center of the world is Singapore, where the 
Straits Trading Co., and the Eastern Smelting Co., both British owned, 
and a Chinese-owned smelter, have a combined capacity of 58,000 metric 
tons of metal a year. 

A large number of the Malaysian mines are worked by Chinese, 
though much English and Australian capital is invested in tin mining 
companies in the Peninsula, and the financial control of the industry 
is in the hands of British subjects. Political control is exercised by a 
prohibitive export duty ($285 per ton) on all tin ore exported for treat- 
ment except to the Straits Settlements, United Kingdom, or Australia. 

As will be seen from Table 60 the Federated Malay States produce 
much more tin than the Protected States. Practically all of the tin in 
the Peninsula is taken from placer deposits, some of which are still worked 
by hand methods, though part of the black tin is now being mined by 
dredges. 

The backbone of the Malay Peninsula is composed of granite which 
is intrusive into limestone, shale, and quartzite. Tin has been found in 
place in practically all of the rock formations. Owing to the intense 
weathering and erosion of the tin-bearing formations great accumulations 
of detritus, more or less mixed with clay, all of which carry cassiterite, 
are found in almost all parts of the Peninsula. The original deposits are 
so softened by weathering that they can be worked by hydraulic methods. 

The provinces of Perak, Selangor, Pahang, and Negri Sembilan, in the 
Federated Malay States, produce tin. The following table shows their 
relative importance. 

Table. — 61 Production op Tin in the Federated Malay States in 1917 

Metric tons 

Perak 25,075 

Selangor 10,595 

Pahang 3,750 

Negri Sembilan 1,055 

In Negri Sembilan, quartz veins in decomposed pegmatite are worked 
by hydraulicking and the mixed tin-tungsten concentrate obtained is 
further separated by magnetic machines. The principal mines are near 
Titi and Seremban. 

Pahang, on the eastern side of the mountains, has many widely scat- 
tered tin deposits, both lodes and placers. The chief workings at present 
are in the mountains near the Selangor boundary, at Bentong, Tras, and 
Machi. Some mining is also done at various places along the Kuantan 
River and its tributaries. Transportation is a serious item in working 
tin mines in Pahang. 

Kuala Lumpur is the center of the more important tin-mining opera- 



TIN 323 

tions in Selangor. Both decomposed lode-stuff and gravels are being 
worked. Near Serendah soft greisenized granite is worked by monitors. 
Near Tanjong, Malim, and on the Kalumpang and Selangor rivers in the 
northern part of the state both gravels and decomposed vein materials 
are worked. 

The Kinta district, in the State of Perak, is the most important tin- 
producing area in the Federated States. A structural valley eroded in 
soft limestones between granite ridges is the location of most of the work- 
ings. The valley is filled with clays and boulder clays carrying tin, and 
the present stream channels are also stanniferous. Mining is in progress 
around 15 or more settlements in this district; much of the mining is by 
open cuts and dredges, but some lode mining is done on pipes in limestones. 
Next in importance to Kinta is the Larut district, northwest of the for- 
mer. Placer deposits are the chief source of tin in the district but 
lodes are worked at Selama and Blanda Mabok. In the south of Perak, 
at Bruseh, stockworks in schist are worked by hydraulicking, yielding 
about three-fourths of a pound to the cubic yard of material worked. 

Development of the tin deposits in the Protected Malay States has 
been hampered by transportation difficulties. Until recently the allu- 
vial tin was won by crude native methods. The principal producing 
comes from the states of Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Trengganu. 

Near Setul, in the State of Perlis, peculiar gravel-filled caves in lime- 
stone have been mined for tin. Some of these caves have been followed 
for four or five miles. In the State of Trengganu, lode mining under 
European management is under way. The lodes seem to be decomposed 
stockworks in granite. 

An insignificant amount of tin is mined from the beach deposits on the 
Island of Malacca, Straits Settlements. The tin was derived from schists 
intruded by granite in which there are many stanniferous veinlets. 

Africa. — As will be seen from Table 60, the principal production of 
tin in Africa is from British Nigeria. The district was worked by natives 
in the early days, but no important production was made until 1904, after 
the subjugation of the Emir of Bauchi. The production of Nigeria 
has grown steadily till it reached 8,500 tons of concentrates in 1917. 
Seemingly all of the mines are controlled by British capital and the 
exports have been largely to the smelters in England. 

The alluvial deposits of Nigeria are in the valleys of the Bauchi 
Plateau. Soda granite and pegmatites, intrusive into older crystalline 
rocks, seem to be the source of the cassiterite that has been concentrated 
by the present streams. Sluicing is the principal mining method, though 
some deposits are suitable only for dredging. Tin is also known in 
northern Nigeria in the Ningi and Burra hills, and other localities. In 
southern Nigeria tin has been found near Akwa-Ibami, in the Uwet 
district. 



324 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

The tin output of the Union of South Africa is chiefly from the Water- 
berg-Zaaiplaats district, in the western Transvaal, a little tin being mined 
in Swaziland and the Cape province. The production has ranged from 
2,950 tons to 3,450 tons of concentrate a year, most of which before the 
war went to England for smelting, but since 1915 to the Straits Settle- 
ments. A small smelter, rated at 250 tons a year, was built at 
Zaaiplaats in 1917; it is expected to supply the tin needed in South 
Africa. 

The Water berg district contains several tin fields. Tin ores are 
found in the Red Granite and Waterberg felsites, sandstones, and con- 
glomerates. In the former the ores occur in pipes, in irregular bodies 
of altered granite, disseminated in the granite, in impregnations along 
fissures, and in pegmatites and quartz veins. In the Waterberg series 
the tin ores are in lodes, and in irregular lenses and pockets whose posi- 
tion is determined by fissures or bedding planes. 

In the Potgietersrust district the principal mines are largely pipe 
deposits in the Red Granite. These pipes, which are very erratic in di- 
rection, range from a few inches to 20 feet in diameter; some have been 
followed for 3,000 feet. The filling material varies greatly, ranging from 
slightly altered granite to a greenish homogeneous rock; the outer zones 
are tourmaline-quartz rock. In the smaller pipes the cassiterite is fairly 
evenly distributed but in the larger pipes it occurs near the outer edges. 

In the Nylstroom district the principal mines are working ore deposits 
in felsites and shales of the Lower Waterberg series. The deposits are 
brecciated country rock cemented by quartz, tourmaline, cassiterite, and 
fluorite. 

The Warmbaths field includes several mines located along the junc- 
tion of the Red Granite and the felsites. Tin is found in lodes in both 
types of rocks and some alluvial tin has been mined. In the Rooiberg 
field, the tin deposits are practically all in fissures in quartzite intruded by 
Red Granite. Tin occurs in the Red Granite 40 miles north of Pretoria. 

In the Cape Province, near Kuils River, cassiterite is found dissemi- 
nated in granite and in veins at the contact of granite and slates. Most 
of the small amount of tin won has been obtained from gravels derived 
from these deposits 

In northwestern Swaziland alluvial deposits have been worked for a 
number of years, producing around 500 tons of concentrates a year. 
At Forbes Reef, schists and slates have been intruded by granite and tin 
lodes are found near the contact of the two formations. 

Tin has been reported in placer deposits in the Winnebah district and 
in pegmatite dikes in the Mankofa and Mount Mankwadi districts of the 
Gold Coast Tin has been found in placer concentrates from streams in 
Nyasaland. Tin deposits seemingly of little value have been found in 
the Enterprise district, east of Salisbury, and in the Ndanga district, east 



TIN 325 

of Victoria, in Rhodesia. These deposits are stanniferous pegmatites 
which are found in schists near granite. 

Australia. — Tin is produced in the following provinces of Australia: 
Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales, West Australia, Northern 
Territory, Victoria, named in the order of their importance. In 1907, 
the output of Tasmania was about 14,000 tons of concentrates, but 
production since then steadily declined until it became nearly stationary 
at 3,000 tons annually for the last few years, and it is believed that this 
output can be maintained for some time. 

There are tin-smelting works at Launceston, in Tasmania; Woolwich, 
near Sydney, New South Wales; and Irvinebank, near Herberton, 
Queensland, capable of producing over 4,200 tons of metallic tin a year. 
Of recent years tin concentrate is being sent to the Straits Settlements 
(Singapore) for smelting. The exports of metallic tin from Australian 
ports in 1917 came to about 3,100 tons. 

Practically all of the mining companies are controlled by Australian 
and English capital, and as the tin is smelted either locally or at Singapore 
the total Australian output can be considered as under the direct political 
and commercial control of England. 

The total production of tin ore from Tasmania 1 from 1880 to 1918, in- 
clusive, is stated to be approximately 128,200 tons. 

The most important tin mine is Mount Bischoff, 45 miles southwest 
of Emu Bay. The deposits, discovered in 1871, are credited with a 
total production of about 75,000 tons of tin ore. There are several 
deposits, soft altered quartz porphyries intrusive into schists. Topaz 
and cassiterite are disseminated in the porphyries, and veins carrying 
tin and wolframite, together with pyrite and arsenopyrite, are found both 
in the porphyry and schists. 

The Shepherd and Murphy mine, near Middlesex, is in a zone of 
metamorphism at the contact of granite, intrusive into sandstone and 
quartzite. Tin, tungsten, and bismuth are produced from this ore. 
Placer tin deposits on the Ringarooma River (Derby district) supply 
about 1,000 tons of tin concentrates a year. The principal placer mines 
are the Pioneer and Briseis. Near Gladstone, placers and lode deposits 
carrying tin and tungsten are worked. At the Anchor mine, in the Blue 
Tier district, a tin-bearing granite averaging one-half per cent, tin is 
worked, but mining has not been profitable. The Renison Bell, Dread- 
nought-Boulder and Montana mines, in the North Dundas field, are in 
slates cut by dikes of quartz porphyry. Zinc, lead, and iron sulphides 
are important in the lodes. In the Heemskirt district, southwestern 
Tasmania, the tin deposits are in granite and in overlying slate and sand- 
stone. At the Federation mine the ore is in a pipe measuring 25 by 15 
feet at the surface, but contracting to only 1 by 5 feet at 115 feet down. 

1 Tasmania, Report Secretary for Mines for the year ending December 31, 1918, 
p. 46, 



326 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Tin was first produced in Queensland in 1872, and the total output, 
including 1917, is estimated to be about 144,008 tons. The chief pro- 
ducing districts are Herberton, Cooktown, Chillagoe, near the port of 
Cairns; Stannhills, Kangaroo Hills, and Stanthorpe, the latter being 
near the New South Wales border. In the Herberton-Cooktown districts 
the tin occurs in greisenized granite intruded into slates, schists, and 
quartzite; bismuth and tungsten minerals are associated with it. Placer 
deposits are worked by hydraulicking, and in places the tin-bearing grei- 
sen is broken down by hydraulic giants. In the Stannhills field, near 
Croydon, cassiterite is found in veins in granite with galena, sphalerite, 
and chalcopyrite. The Kangaroo Hills, 100 miles south of Herberton, 
produces both lode and placer tin. In the Stanthorpe district most of 
the output is from placer deposits, some of which are buried under basalts. 

Tin was first mined in New South Wales in 1872, and the total produc- 
tion, including the output of 1917, is estimated at 84,230 tons of tin and 
34,510 tons of tin concentrates. 

The chief producing districts are the Vegetable Creek and Emmaville- 
Tingha-Inverell region, in the northeast near the Queensland border, 
and the Ardlethan district, 40 miles west of Temora, in the south. In the 
Emmaville-Inverell region the erosion of stanniferous greisenized granite, 
intrusive into slates, has resulted in a widespread distribution of tin 
placers, both in the present streams and in what are believed to be Terti- 
ary stream beds that are now capped by lavas. The Vegetable Creek 
mines, near Emmaville, are typical of the older placer deposits. Since 
1900, dredging has become important, and it is estimated that the dredge 
production up to 1917 was 18,854 tons of concentrates. Lode mining, 
although not as important, has been done in this district in pipes and 
stockworks in granite; the typical fluorine-bearing gangue minerals are 
common, and tungsten, bismuth, copper, and lead minerals are found. 

Tin was discovered in the Ardlethan district in 1912 in lodes in granite 
and schist. Molybdenum, bismuth, and tungsten are commonly as- 
sociated with tin in the greisenized granite lodes. The Barrier district, 
in the western part of the province, has not been a large contributor, 
because of lack of water. Cassiterite is found in dikes of coarsely crys- 
talline granite intrusive into greisen and mica schist. 

In West Australia the most important tin-producing districts are 
Greenbushes, near the southwest, and Pilbara, on the northwest, though 
there has been a very small recovery of tin in the Murchison goldfield, 
and Coolgardie. In the Greenbushes district cassiterite is found in peg- 
matite and quartz-tourmaline veins in granite, but the tin won is from 
stream deposits and from laterite. In the Pilbara field the alluvial tin 
has been derived from pegmatite dikes that cut granite and metamorphic 
rocks. 

The production of tin in Northern Territory has amounted to about 



TIN 327 

200 tons a year, most of it being obtained from pegmatitic deposits in 
granite in the vicinity of Burrundie. 

A few tons of tin concentrates are saved each year in the operation 
of gold placers in the Northeastern and Gippsland divisions of Victoria. 

India. — The principal output of tin in India is from the Mergui and 
Tavoy districts, southern Lower Burma; Tharton and Amherst districts, 
northern Lower Burma; and the Southern Shan States. The production 
amounts to about 150 tons of metallic tin a year, and is sent to the Straits 
Settlements for smelting. 

In the Mergui district cassiterite is found in alluvial deposits near 
granite hills, the granite being intrusive into sedimentary rocks of un- 
certain age. Tin ore is also found in pegmatite and quartz veins. In 
the Tavoy district tin is obtained as a by-product of wolfram mining. 
The deposits occur in pegmatite and quartz veins cutting granite and 
sedimentary rocks. In the Tharton district the tin-bearing alluvium is 
said to be rich and its development is awaited with interest. Produc- 
tion of tin began in 1912 from the deposits of Bawlake State, Karenni, 
Southern Shan States, and in 1917 these deposits were the chief producers 
in India. 

Cornwall. — In the extreme southwest of England is the famous 
Cornwall tin region, which includes the Camborne, St. Austell, and 
Liskeard districts, in Cornwall, and the Tavistock district, in Devon. 
The mines have produced about 8,000 tons of concentrates a year, but 
at present the output seems to be diminishing; in 1915 the production 
of metallic tin was approximately 5,000 tons, but in 1918 was only about 
4,000 tons. 

Tin mining in Cornwall dates back to prehistoric times. In the 
sixteenth century the mines produced about 700 tons of tin a year; the 
maximum output was reached in the period 1860 to 1890, when about 
10,000 tons was produced annually. It is estimated that the total output 
of tin from this district is approximately 1,750,000 tons. The mining 
companies are without exception controlled by British capital. 

The second largest tin-smelting capacity in the world is in the Corn- 
wall district. The following companies, Williams Harvey & Co., Pen- 
poll, Cornish Tin Smelting Co., Copper Pass, Redruth Tin Smelting Co., 
and the London Smelting Co. operate smelters having a combined output 
of approximately 31,100 tons of tin a year. 

The tin deposits of Cornwall and Devon lie about five masses of gran- 
ite, which are intruded into slates (killas) and greenstones. Quartz por- 
phyry dikes are closely connected with the granite, and the tin lodes are 
found in both slates and granite, being particularly abundant near 
intrusive contacts with low dips. The principal lodes are wide zones of 
fissured rock that are tourmalinized, the less important fissures containing 
tin and gangue minerals. Copper and tungsten minerals are produced 



328 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

from these lodes, and arsenic is an important by-product of smelting. 
The lodes in slates are as a rule richer in copper than in the granite, and 
in depth the lodes contain a larger proportion of tin than nearer the sur- 
face. The mines about the Camborne granite mass yield about 85 per 
cent, of the tin mined, those about the Lands End granite mass 12 per 
cent., and the mines about St. Austell, Bodmin Moor, and Dartmoor 
about 1 per cent. each. 

Practically all of the tin produced in recent years has been from lodes, 
but placer tin was mined near St. Austell. The lodes have been worked 
to a depth of 3,000 feet, which seems to be about the greatest depth to 
which commercially profitable ore extends. As considerable ground 
above this level remains to be developed, the district should be productive 
for some time. 

Other Nations. — Outside of the British Empire the principal tin 
deposits of the world are in Bolivia, the Dutch East Indies, China, and 
Siam, named in the order of their importance as producers in 1918. 
There are small outputs of tin from deposits in Japan, Spain, Portugal, 
and the United States, and tin deposits are known in Germany, Italy, 
Russia, Belgian-Congo, and Southwest Africa. 

Bolivia. — Practically all of the tin ore shipped from Bolivia is mined 
from lodes. Mining began late in the last century. Exports are in the 
form of barilla, a tin concentrate carrying 60 to 65 per cent, and averag- 
ing about 62 per cent. tin. The output has been steadily increasing, 
and since 1913 Bolivia has been the second largest producer of tin in the 
world. (See Table 60, and Figure 9). The majority of the companies 
working in Bolivia are controlled by Chilean or local capital, though a 
little English, French, Swiss, and German capital was invested in Boliv/ 
ian tin mines before the war. Recently English and American capital 
has become interested in the deposits. 

Prior to the war practically all of the barilla was sent to Germany and 
England to be smelted, but lately exports have been to the United 
States and England. A small Chilean-owned smelter, estimated capacity 
900 tons a year, has recently been built at Arica to handle the concen- 
trates from one of the larger mines. 

There are four important tin-producing districts in east central 
Bolivia, in the provinces of Potosi, Oruro, and La Paz. The region lies 
on the high plateau (elevation, 12,000 feet) and the principal mines are 
near or in the mountains on the east of the pampa rather than in the west- 
ern range of the Cordillera. Schists, slates, and quartzites have been 
intruded by acid igneous rocks, and the tin deposits are found in the 
granites, the quartz porphyries, and the sedimentary rocks near the 
contacts. The quartz veins are strong and carry between 3 and 8 per 
cent, tin in most of the productive mines, though some bodies of ore 
have carried as much as 40 per cent, tin. Some of the mines were worked 



TIN 329 

for silver by the Spanish, but the silver ores seem to be limited to the 
upper zones, the lodes becoming relatively richer in tin at depth. Wol- 
framite and bismuth are won as by-products at some of the mines. Py- 
rite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and galena are usually abundant in the 
tin ores, and tourmaline and fluorite are not uncommon. 

The Bolivian deposits are of considerable future importance. Many 
mines and prospects, either through lack of knowledge or finances, have 
not been developed; the local management of most of the mines has been 
notoriously poor; and it is thought that with proper technical direction 
the output of tin can be greatly increased. 

Dutch East Indies. — On the islands of Banca, Billiton, and Singkep, 
south of the Malay Peninsula, are important tin mines. As will be 
seen from Table 60 the output of tin from these islands has been approxi- 
mately 21,000 tons a year. Mining began on Banka about 1718, but the 
Billiton deposits were not worked until about 1860. The mines of Banka 
are worked by the government, but on Billiton and Singkep the deposits 
are leased by private concerns, mostly Dutch. At Banka the Dutch 
government operates smelters having a yearly capacity of 16,000 tons. 
The concentrates produced on Billiton and Singkep are in part sent to 
the Straits Settlements for treatment, but some are smelted locally. 

Practically all of the tin mined in the Dutch East Indies is from placer 
deposits, some of which are alluvial. There is, however, a little lode 
mining on Billiton. The cassiterite was formed in greisenized granite 
and sediments, and the original deposits are similar to those of the Malay 
Peninsula. A little tungsten and gold are obtained as by-products of 
the tin mining. 

China. — Tin deposits in the Mengtze district, near Kochiu, Province 
of Yunnan, southeastern China, have been worked for many years. 
During recent years about 8,000 tons of tin have been exported, and it 
is known that considerable tin ore produced from these deposits is smelted 
locally, the metal being consumed in China. The exports go out through 
the French port of Haifong. The mining industry is entirely under 
Chinese control. Most of the tin ore is obtained by placer and open-cut 
methods from decomposed granitic and pegmatitic lodes which are found 
near the contact of granite that is intrusive into limestone. There are 
less important tin deposits in the Fuchuan and Tungchwan districts, 
the former producing a very pure metal. 

The tin concentrates exported go mostly to Hong Kong and the 
Straits Settlements for treatment, so the Chinese tin output is more or 
less at the disposal of England. 

Siam. — In that part of Siam lying in the Malay Peninsula, tin de- 
posits, similar in origin and occurrence to those in the British provinces, 
are being worked, and as shown by Table 60 are yearly becoming larger 
factors in the world's output. The largest operations are near Renong 



330 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

and Tongkah, where dredging by British companies is active. The 
chief producing companies are Tongkah Harbor Tin Dredging Co., Tin 
Benbong, Bangnon Valley, Ronpibon Extended, Beebook Dredging Co., 
and Katoo Syndicate. 

Japan. — The tin-producing localities in Japan are near Kagoshima, 
Satsuma, on Kyushu Island; about 50 miles north of Kobe in Tajima 
province; and near Nayegi, Mino Province, near the center of the main 
island. Placer deposits near Nayegi have yielded some tin, seemingly 
derived from pegmatite dikes in granite. The Akinobe mine, in Tajima 
Province, was developed as a copper mine, but about 1912 tin and 
tungsten minerals were found in the ore. The veins are in slates and 
quartzites intruded by diorites. It is said that in 1917 about 40 tons of 
mixed tin-tungsten ores was produced daily. A small smelter at Ikuno 
handles the tin concentrates and produces about 250 tons of tin a year. 
The Susuijama mine, in Satsuma, produces tin from veins, in shales and 
sandstones, that also carry lead and zinc. Apparently the output is 
smelted and used locally. 

Spain. — In the provinces of Salamanca, Zamora, Orense, Pontevedra, 
and Corufia, northwest Spain, there are tin deposits. Lode deposits are 
found near the contact of granite intrusive into schists and gneisses, and 
placer deposits have been worked since ancient times. In 1913 about 
6,700 tons of ore is said to have been produced, but since then the output 
has been around 100 tons a year. 

Portugal. — In Portugal, just south of the Spanish border, tin lodes in 
granite and slates have been found and placer deposits worked in the 
gravels adjacent to the lodes. The yearly output of these deposits is 
around 300 tons. It is reported that American capital is interested in 
some of the Portugese tin and tungsten deposits. 

United States. — In the United States the domestic output is only 
nominal, being equivalent to 60 to 100 tons of tin a year. The productive 
deposits, placers worked by dredges, are in the York district of Seward 
Peninsula, Alaska. They occur near the contact of granite intrusive 
into limestones, in peculiar rocks of contact metamorphic origin. 

Cassiterite has been mined from gravels derived from pegmatite 
dikes intrusive in pre-Cambrian rocks of the Black Hills near Tinton and 
Hill City, South Dakota, and various attempts have been made to mine 
the lode deposits. These deposits are of more scientific interest than 
commercial importance. A little stream tin has also been mined on the 
North Carolina- South Carolina boundary near King's Mountain, the 
cassiterite being an original constituent of pegmatite dikes intrusive into 
pre-Cambrian schists. At Irish Creek, Rockbridge County, Virginia, 
there are known stanniferous veins in coarse granites. In the Franklin 
Mountains 14 miles north of El Paso, Texas, quartz veins in granite 



TIN 331 

carrying cassiterite were worked at one time but have not been produc- 
tive of late. In the Temescal Mountains, Riverside County, California, 
small quartz veins carrying cassiterite are found in acid granitic rocks 
that are intrusive into metamorphosed sediments. Considerable work 
was done in this locality in the years 1880 to 1890, but the irregularity 
of the deposits and their low tin content do not hold much promise for 
future production. 

Prior to the war the United States, although the largest consumer of 
tin in the world, produced practically no tin ore, and imported only 
metallic tin, having no smelters for treating tin ore. Since 1916 smelters 
have been erected by the American Smelting & Refining Co., and the 
Williams Harvey Corporation, their estimated capacity being 18,000 
tons of tin a year. Presumably these smelters must rely largely on 
Bolivian concentrates. 

Germany- Austria. — Germany has produced practically no tin ores in 
recent years, though the country had a smelting industry, estimated at 
about 16,000 tons of tin a year, dependent on foreign ores. The normal 
imports of tin ore before the war were 17,000 to 18,000 metric tons a 
year, most of which came from Bolivia. 

In the Erzgebirge, on the German- Austrian frontier, in the Altenberg- 
Zinnwald district, there was formerly some tin mining. The deposits, 
which are typical greisen lying near the tops and sides of bodies of granite 
intrusive into schists and gneisses, have made almost no production for 
several years and they are considered to be exhausted. 

Italy. — At Campiglia Marittima, Tuscany, iron and tin have been 
produced from veins in limestone and shale. The output is variable 
and cannot be relied upon. 

Russia. — In the former Empire of Russia tin has been found in the 
Trans-Baikal Province, Siberia, and in the Urals and Finland in European 
Russia. The Siberian deposits are placers in the basin of the Onon 
River. A German company was formed before the war to work lode tin 
deposits near Olovianoy, southwest of Nerchinsk, in the Urals. The 
Finnish deposits are at Pitkaranta, north of Lake Ladoga. The ores are 
a mixture of magnetite, cassiterite, and chalcopyrite, occurring in altered 
limestone and schist. . 

Belgian Congo (Katanga) . — Alluvial tin derived from veins in granite 
and intruded sedimentary rocks has been found along Lualaba River 
and on Busanga Ridge. There are no records of production, but the 
field holds considerable promise. 

Southwest Africa. — Cassiterite occurs in pegmatite, intrusive into 
granite, in the Erongo Mountains east of Brandberg, and some placer 
tin deposits have been worked. On the whole the region does not seem 
to be particularly promising. 



332 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



PROBABLE CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

It seems reasonably certain that England is in a position to keep 
producing a large part of the world's tin for some time, the lessening 
output from the Malaysian provinces being offset by the increased pro- 
duction of the African colonies. Both Cornwall and Australia, it is 
believed, will be able to maintain for a number of years a rather steady 
output of about the present size. 

Bolivia will doubtless be able to increase her output of tin, and prob- 
ably both Siam and China can be expected to produce larger quantities 
in the future. Production of the Dutch East Indies can probably be 
maintained at about its present rate for a number of years. 

POLITICAL CONTROL 

As will be seen from Table 62 and Figure 10, Great Britain controls 
politically over 50 per cent, of the tin output of the world, in that her 



ALL OTHERS 



ALL OTHERS 




TIN DEPOSITS 




TIN SMELTERS 



Fig. 10. — -Political control of tin deposits and tin smelters, based on estimates for 1918. 



political influence is absolute in England, Africa, Australia, and all of her 
colonial possessions on the east side of the Indian Ocean; and there can 
be little doubt that the strong British policy with regard to the eastern 
colonies is also potent with respect to Siam and China. 

Holland controls the tin output of the East Indian island colonies, in 
which there are smelting works that seem capable of taking care of most 
of the ore mined. Holland consumes little tin herself and has approxi- 
mately 16 per cent, of the world's supply at her disposal. Prior to the 
war Holland was a large distributor of tin, but during the war tin from 
her colonies was sent direct to America and England, the largest con- 
suming countries. 

China has a rather feeble political control of the output of the Yunnan 



TIN 



333 



tin mines, but as that part of her production which reaches the rest of the 
world is exported through French territory, largely through English 
middlemen, her actual control is not particularly great. 

Siam controls some important tin fields. The very strong British 
influence on the Malay Peninsula, coupled with the fact that the Siamese 
ore is smelted in the Straits Settlements, seems to indicate that British 
policy will largely dominate the tin-mining industry of Siam. 

Bolivia, using little tin and producing nearly a quarter of the world's 
output, is really the only considerable producer that can act more or less 
independently. Her mines are mostly controlled by Chilian-Bolivian 
capital and she has the world for a market. It would seem that Bolivian 
barilla might be smelted locally, but as Bolivia has no fuel, the tin smelt- 
ing capacity of Bolivia amounts thus far to almost nothing. Her nearest 
market at present is the United States, but the future will show whether 
Bolivian ore will continue to be smelted in the United States, as during 
the past few years, or will be sent to England and Germany, as before 
the war. 

The relation of political control of tin deposits and tin smelting is 
shown in the following table, and diagrammatically in Figure 10. 



Table 62. — Political Control op Tin Deposits and Smelters Based on 

Estimates for 1918 



Country- 


Control of 
tin deposits, 
annual output 
(metric tons) 


Percentage of 
world output 


Control of 

tin smelters, 

annual capacity 

(metric tons) 


Percentage of 
world capacity 


Great Britain 

Holland 

China 

Siam 

Bolivia 

Germany 

France 


59,900 
20,200 
12,000 
8,600 
28,000 


45.5 

15.2 

9.3 

7.0 

21.3 

1.7 


88,300 
16,000 
12,000 

2,700 
16,000 

1,500 

18,000 

500 


57.3 
10.2 

7.4 

1.6 
10.2 




0.7 


America 




12.4 


All others 


2,000 


0.2 






Total 


130,700 




154,000 





COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF TIN MINES 

British capital is the dominant controlling factor of approximately 
57 per cent, of the world's tin output, and through affiliations with capital 
of other countries it has a partial control of about 15 per cent. more. 
British capital is dominant in all of the British possessions and Siam, 
and through buying agencies practically controls the export tin from 
China. Bolivian tin mines are the only ones in the world in which British 



334 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

control is not strongly felt. The largest part of the Bolivian output is 
under the financial control of Chilean financiers, with local capital the next 
strongest factor. French and German money has been invested to a 
limited extent in Bolivian mines. 

Recently the firm of Guggenheim Brothers, of New York, connected 
with the American tin-smelting industry, has acquired certain tin mines 
in Bolivia. 

COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF TIN SMELTING 

British capital controls tin smelters with a yearly capacity of approxi- 
mately 88,300 tons of tin a year. These are situated in England, Straits 
Settlements, and Australia. The tin deposits of undoubted British 
control can produce ore to furnish only 62,550 tons, so that England has 
a smelting capacity of 15,750 tons a year in excess of her supply. 

The Dutch control the smelters, having a capacity of 16,000 tons, of 
their East Indian colonies, but the annual output of ore from these colo- 
nies is equivalent to 20,200 tons of tin, so that an excess of 4,200 tons 
must be smelted elsewhere, and most of this goes to the smelters in the 
Straits Settlements, which are English owned. 

Chinese capital controls smelters that are seemingly capable of hand- 
ling the entire output of China, about 12,000 tons of tin a year. 

American capital, since the war, has developed tin smelters in the 
United States and Bolivia, which have an annual capacity of 18,000 
metric tons. This capacity is being enlarged and should be able shortly 
to take care of the entire Bolivian tin output, provided it receives the 
ore. But Chilean capital has built a smelter at Arica which could 
handle about 10 per cent, of the Bolivian output, and if this smelter is 
favored by Chilean mine owners the American smelters may find them- 
selves short of ore. 

German capital is interested in tin smelters in Germany that have a 
producing capacity of 15,000 tons a year. All of the ore treated must 
be imported, but it hardly seems possible that much ore from outside 
sources can be expected for some time, as the smelting capacity of the 
world exceeds the output of the mines. 

The tin-smelting capacity of the world is approximately 154,000 
tons, whereas the world's production of tin ore is equivalent to approxi- 
mately 130,700 tons. It is evident that, unless greater production is 
forthcoming, some smelters will be idle, and it is a reasonable surmise that 
neither the British nor Dutch smelters will lack ore. The United States, 
owing to its favorable situation with respect to Bolivian supply, may 
hope to have a large part of its smelter capacity at work, though there 
is some question whether enough ore will be available to assure the maxi- 
mum operation of the tin smelters in the United States. 



TIN 335 

POSITION OF THE TIN-CONSUMING COUNTRIES 

Great Britain produces more tin than she consumes and is therefore in 
a position to dispose of tin to the rest of the world. From a study of 
import and export tables it seems that England consumes about 20,000 
tons of tin a year and that she imports about 55,000 tons and therefore 
has 35,000 tons for export. She is in position through her large political 
and commercial control of tin deposits and smelters to practically dictate 
the world's tin policy. 

The Dutch colonies produce about 16 per cent, of the world's tin, 
and as Holland is normally a very small consumer of tin, she has supplied 
a considerable part of the tin used in Germany and the United States. 

Prior to the war a considerable tin-plate industry, dependent on 
foreign tin, was built up in southern Russia. The consumption was 
about 8,000 tons of tin a year, which was largely supplied by Great 
Britain, Holland, and Germany. If this industry is maintained Russia 
will still be under the necessity of importing considerable tin. 

Tin users in Germany, who, before the war, apparently consumed about 
22,000 tons of tin, must purchase all supplies from others. Before the 
war the principal supply of tin ore was Bolivia, and of metallic tin the 
Dutch East Indies. It seems reasonable that Germany's supply of 
Bolivian ore may be curtailed in the future, as the United States is now 
in position to treat the ore, and freight rates should favor shipments of 
Bolivian barilla to the United States rather than to Germany. Whether 
the German tin-smelting industry will survive or not remains to be seen. 

France has a small tin-smelting industry, treating about 1,500 tons 
a year. The apparent consumption is about 7,000 tons of tin a year, most 
of which was formerly imported from British India, England, and the 
Dutch East Indies. 

The United States annually consumes over 80,000 tons of tin, in- 
cluding secondary metal, and produces from domestic ores about 100 
tons. Prior to the war, metallic tin was obtained through England and 
Holland, as there were no tin smelters in this country. During the war 
there was established a tin-smelting industry, which is dependent entirely 
on foreign ore, most of which so far has come from Bolivia. The esti- 
mated capacity of tin smelters in America is about 18,000 tons a year or 
about 20 per cent, of the estimated yearly requirement. A combination 
of English, Bolivian and American capital is interested in one of these 
smelters, and also in Bolivian tin mines, and probably this smelter can 
be supplied. There is, however, considerable question whether the other 
smelters can obtain supplies of Bolivian ore. Certainly they will have 
competition from both English and German smelting concerns, which 
will be somewhat offset by cheaper freight to the United States than 
across the Atlantic. This difference is probably not large, and it would 



336 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

seem that if American smelters are to get Bolivian tin ore their charges 
must be low. A surer method of meeting their ore requirements would be 
to obtain financial control of enough ore deposits in Bolivia to supply 
the demand. 

Evidently the United States must in the future, as in the past, import 
considerable quantities of tin from both Great Britain and Holland. 
It is to be hoped that the tin trade routes established during the war may 
be maintained and that American consumers will not have to pay the 
additional charges necessitated by Eastern tin going to Europe and back 
to the United States. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

MERCURY 

By F. L. Ransome 
USES OF MERCURY 

Under normal conditions the chief uses of quicksilver (mercury) or 
its salts, stated in order of decreasing importance, are as follows : In 
the manufacture of drugs and chemicals, including calomel and corrosive 
sublimate; in the manufacture of certain chemicals, such as glacial acetic 
acid, phthalic acid and phthalic anhydride, into which mercury itself 
does not enter; as mercury fulminate ((C:N.0 2 )Hg, J^H 2 0), made 
by treating mercury with alcohol and nitric acid, which is used as a 
detonator for high explosives, and, though less than formerly, in small- 
arms ammunition. 

The discovery of mercury fulminate by Howard in 1799 led to the in- 
vention of the percussion cap in place of the old flint-lock, and fulminate 
still remains the best-known and most-used detonator for gunpowder 
and high explosives. It is often combined with other substances, partic- 
ularly an abrasive such as powdered glass, to increase its sensitiveness, 
and with compounds or mixtures that themselves have the property of 
detonating, such as sulphide of antimony and chlorate of potassium. Re- 
cently a large part of the mercury fulminate in detonators for modern 
high explosives has been replaced by picric acid, trinitrotoluene, or 
tetranitromethylamine, whereby a much stronger initial effect is obtained, 
and one part of mercury fulminate is made to detonate a charge that 
would have required six times as much fulminate used alone. Other 
substances have been found, which seem likely to replace mercury ful- 
minate entirely for certain uses. One of these is lead azide, a salt of 
hydronitric acid. Large dry crystals of this salt are so sensitive as to 
explode when brushed with a feather, but smaller crystals are less 
sensitive. 

As mercuric sulphide, mercury forms the brilliant red pigment vermil- 
ion. The metal is employed extensively in electrical apparatus, includ- 
ing rectifiers for changing alternating into direct current, mercury vapor 
lamps, and storage batteries. In the manufacture of felt hats from 
rabbits' fur, mercuric nitrate is used to roughen the hairs so that they 
will adhere together, a process technically known as "carroting." Me- 
tallic quicksilver is employed in the amalgamation of gold and silver 
ores, although of late years the wide application of the cyanide process 
22 337 



338 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

has decreased this use. The metal is also utilized in the manufacture of 
instruments, thermostats, gas governors, and other appliances. Mer- 
cury enters into the composition of some anti-fouling marine paints for 
ship bottoms, a modern and at present rapidly increasing use. The 
mercury for this purpose is generally employed as red mercuric oxide, its 
efficiency depending upon the gradual conversion of the oxide to the poison- 
ous bichloride by the sodium chloride of salt water. Mercury is also used 
in certain compounds for preventing boiler scale, in cosmetics, and in 
dental amalgam. Silver nitrate has to a large extent replaced mercury 
in silvering mirrors. A small quantity of quicksilver, not more than two 
or three flasks annually, is used in floating certain types of revolving lights 
in lighthouses. Quicksilver is also used as the cathode in certain elec- 
trolytic processes for manufacturing chlorine and caustic soda from 
common salt. Mercuric oxide parts with oxygen readily and is a useful 
oxidizing agent in certain chemical processes. An important modern 
utilization of this property is in the manufacture of glacial acetic acid by 
the oxidation of acetylene. 

Experiments to determine the possible advantages of using mercury 
vapor with steam in turbine power generators are reported to have been 
encouraging and a 4,000-kilowatt unit has been built by the General 
Electric Co. to test further this application. Except for incidental losses, 
the mercury so used is recoverable, but if in practice the increase of 
power is as much as the experimental work has indicated a large con- 
sumption of the metal is likely to result. 

The production of quicksilver in this country in 1917 was 35,954 
flasks (of 75 pounds) and in 1918 it was 32,883 flasks. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The ores of quicksilver, like those of most metals, show on the whole 
a close association with igneous rocks and with zones of Assuring. More 
commonly than with other metals, with the possible exception of anti- 
mony, they are associated with volcanism as opposed to plutonic igneous 
activity and were deposited comparatively near the surface. It follows 
that quicksilver deposits as a rule are found in regions of Tertiary and 
Quaternary volcanic activity which have not been subjected to long and 
deep erosion, that they are more likely to be in the younger geologic forma- 
tions than in the older rocks, and that as a class, compared for example 
with the hypogene ores of gold or popper, do not extend to great depth. 
It must be noted, however, that there are some conspicuous exceptions to 
these generalizations. Although the California deposits are in a region 
of late volcanic activity and many of them are closely associated with 
active hot springs, the ore bodies that are now most productive, those at 
New Idria (Idria post office) and the great deposits, at New Almaden, 
that formerly yielded so richly, have no obvious connection with vol- 



MERCURY 339 

canism. The greatest quicksilver mine in the world, that at Almaden, 
Spain, has no known connection with volcanism or massive igneous rocks, 
has been worked to a depth of 1,150 feet, and the ore bodies have been 
found to grow larger and richer downward. The deepest quicksilver 
mine in the world is the New Almaden in California, worked to a depth of 
2,200 feet. The part of the mine below the 600-foot level was abandoned 
at a time when the price of quicksilver was low, but it is doubtful whether, 
under any conditions that can now be foreseen, it will be profitable to 
reopen and work the deep levels of this mine. 

Although most of the known quicksilver deposits are in regions of 
geologically late volcanic eruptions it is probable that ores of quicksilver 
were deposited during or closely following epochs of similar igneous ac- 
tivity in the older geologic periods, but that many of them have been re- 
moved by erosion. Some of the deposits in the older rocks, which do not 
appear to be related to Tertiary or later volcanic eruptions, may have 
had such earlier origin. 

The quicksilver deposits of the Adriatic region in Europe, including 
those at Idria, in Austria ; Avala, in Serbia ; and Monte Amiata, in Italy, 
have been shown by De Launay to belong to a single metallogenetic prov- 
ince characterized by Tertiary eruptions. Similarly, the somewhat 
scattered occurrences of quicksilver in Alaska, Washington, Idaho, 
Montana, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, California, Arizona, Mexico, Peru, 
and Chile coincide in part with the belt of Tertiary and Quaternary 
volcanic activity along the western sides of the continents of North and 
South America. The deposits at Almaden, Spain, in the Donetz basin, 
Russia, in Asiatic Turkey, and in China appear to be isolated occurrences 
that can not at present be assigned to recognizable provinces of eruptive 
activity and metallization. 

Quicksilver deposits are not confined to rocks of any particular kind 
or of any particular geologic age. 

At Oviedo the ore averages 0.33 per cent, and yields arsenic com- 
pounds as by-products. At Idria the ore yields 0.65 per cent. The ore 
of the Abbadia-San Salvatore, the principal mine in the Monte Amiata 
district, in Italy, yielded about 0.9 per cent, in 1915. In California few 
mines have over 2 per cent, ore, and the average yield of the ore worked 
is about 0.5 per cent. The lowest yield that was profitably obtained in 
that state in 1917 was 0.185 per cent. The ores worked in Texas are 
generally of higher grade than those mined in California. In the princi- 
pal mine of the Terlingua district, Texas, the won tenor of the ore in 1916 
was 2.5 per cent, and in 1917, 3.9 per cent. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

Europe. — The largest and richest deposit of quicksilver ore known is 
at Almaden, in central Spain. There are three nearly parallel ore bodies 



340 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

standing vertically side by side, each consisting of a portion of a bed of 
quartzite of Silurian age, impregnated with cinnabar. The ore bodies 
have been mined to a depth of 350 meters. The production in 1917 was 
probably about 25,000 flasks. The mine is said to have ore opened up 
that insures a future production of at least 40,000 metric tons of quick- 
silver. Other productive deposits in Spain are those near Oviedo, where 
the ore, which contains cinnabar, pyrite, orpiment, and realgar, is said 
to average about one-third of 1 per cent, of quicksilver, with arsenic 
compounds as by-products. According to a report from Vice Consul 
General H. A. McBride, written in Barcelona in 1911, the principal com- 
panies operating in the Oviedo districts were the Oviedo Mercury Mines 
Co., Ltd., of London, the Sociedad Fabrica de Mieres, of Oviedo, and the 
Sociedad Union Asturiana, of Mieres. The production from the district 
in 1915 was 608 flasks (20.7 metric tons). A third group of deposits lies 
on the south slope of the Sierra Nevada in the provinces of Granada and 
Almeria, southern Spain. The production from Granada in 1915 was 
41 flasks (1.4 metric tons). 

A small quantity of quicksilver was produced in Portugal in the nine- 
teenth century from a mine not far from Lisbon. Cinnabar occurs at a 
number of localities in France and also in Corsica, but the deposits are 
not of economic character. 

In South Germany, north of Zweibrucken, are quicksilver deposits 
that had considerable importance near the end of the thirteenth century, 
but at the beginning of the World War the mines had been closed for 
many years. Zinc ores mined near Bensberg, east of Cologne, yield 
annually about 90 flasks of quicksilver, won as a by-product in zinc 
smelting. In the former Austrian Empire the principal deposit is at 
Idria, about 28 miles from Trieste. The ore body occurs chiefly as an 
impregnation of Triassic dolomite and shale. The output in Austria in 
1916, probably all from Idria, is believed to have been about 25,000 
flasks. Reserves capable of yielding 20,000 metric tons, or 587,733 flasks, 
are known. At latest reports these mines were in the possession of Italy. 
At Zips, in northern Hungary, quicksilver is obtained as a by-product 
from iron ore (siderite) that carries mercurial tetrahedrite and some 
cinnabar. The production in 1913 was 2,615 flasks. 

To the west of Idria, quicksilver deposits belonging to the same gen- 
eral belt of metallization extend into northern Italy, The principal 
deposit of this belt in Venetia is the Vallalta. The mine produced 
9,550 flasks (325 metric tons) between 1856 and 1870, but has long been 
idle. The most productive deposits of quicksilver in Italy are those of 
the Monte Amiata district, in Tuscany, about half way between Rome 
and Florence. Monte Amiata is apparently a post-Pliocene volcano, 
and traces of recent volcanic activity survive. The most productive 
mine is the Abbadia-San Salvatore, which yields about 65 per cent, of 



MERCURY 341 

the output from the district, which in 1917 amounted to about 29,300 
flasks. 

At Mount Avala, near Belgrade in Serbia, deposits of quicksilver ore 
have been known since 1883, which resemble many of those in Cali- 
fornia. The Avala deposits were worked between 1889 and 1895, but 
seemingly have not been productive in late years. 

The only quicksilver deposits of note in European Russia are those in 
the Donetz coal basin, southern Russia. The essential mineral is cinna- 
bar, accompanied by stibnite and pyrite. The deposits were discovered 
in 1879, the maximum output, 18,102 flasks (616 metric tons), was 
reached in 1897, and work was abandoned in 1911, but has been resumed 
since in a small way. 

Asia. — The Konia mine, in south-central Asia Minor, is in silicified 
limestone. The quicksilver occurs as cinnabar and most of the ore car- 
ries from 1 to 2.5 per cent, of the metal. The known reserves were esti- 
mated in 1908 at 13,000 metric tons of 1 per cent. ore. The production 
in 1911 was only 90 flasks of 75 pounds. The Kara-Burnu mine, said to 
be the only important quicksilver mine in Turkey, is situated southeast 
of Smyrna. In 1906 and 1907 the mine was producing about 3,000 
flasks annually, but of late years the output has declined and in 1912 
amounted to only 811 flasks (31 metric tons). 

The Ildekansk quicksilver mine, in southeastern Siberia, east of Lake 
Baikal, has gained notoriety from the fact that political exiles were con- 
demned to mine the ore. The deposit appears to be of slight economic 
importance. 

That quicksilver deposits occur in the Province of Kweichow, south- 
central China, has long been known, but the locality is remote from ordi- 
nary routes of travel and comparatively little is on record concerning their 
character. The ore bodies of the Wan San Chang mines are the most 
extensively worked. For several years prior to 1905 the output averaged 
about 4,000 pounds of quicksilver a month. This would be equivalent to 
about 640 flasks annually. More recent figures of production are not 
available. 

North America. — The quicksilver deposits of North America are con- 
fined to the Cordilleran region from Alaska to Central America. The 
most productive deposits are in California and western Texas. In 
Alaska minerals containing quicksilver have been found in a number of 
the placer-mining districts, but deposits in place have been discovered 
in the central Kuskokwim region only. The ore occurs as cinnabar 
accompanied by stibnite, quartz, and a ferruginous dolomite. Develop- 
ment has been hindered by transportation difficulties, and only a few 
hundred pounds of quicksilver have been produced for local consumption. 
In Washington quicksilver ores have been prospected in various places, 
but the production is as yet inconsiderable. In Oregon cinnabar is 



342 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

widely distributed, but only one deposit (at Blackbutte, in Lane County) 
is at present productive. In the Black Butte mine the ore averages 
about 0.25 per cent, of quicksilver, and the quantity available above the 
500-foot level is estimated by the company at about 150,000 tons. The 
production of Oregon in 1917 was 388 flasks, all but 3 flasks being from 
the Black Butte mine. 

In California the principal deposits occur in the Coast Ranges within 
a belt that is about 400 miles long and has a maximum width of about 
75 miles. The known deposits within this area are numerous. About 
twenty-five of these are at present productive, while probably three times 
that number which were once productive are now idle. With a few 
exceptions, the deposits of this main quicksilver belt are in rocks of 
probable Jurassic age, or in serpentine which is the alteration product of 
peridotites. The most notable exceptions are the deposits of the 
Oceanic mine, San Luis Obispo County, and of the Sulphur Bank mine, 
in Lake County. Many of the most productive mines of the past have 
yielded no quicksilver from underground work for years. 

The most productive mine in California at present is the New Idria, in 
San Benito County, which in 1917 yielded 11,000 flasks out of a total for 
the state of 23,733 flasks and for the United States of 35,954 flasks. 
The New Idria ore comes from two mines, the New Idria proper and the 
San Carlos. The New Idria has been extensively opened to a depth of 
about 1,000 feet. In the San Carlos practically all of the known ore 
lies within 200 feet of the surface. The two mines contributed nearly 
equally to the total production in 1917, and the average winnable tenor 
of the ore in that year was 0.32 per cent. It has been estimated that in 
the two mines there is available 2,400,000 tons of ore averaging 0.253 
per cent, of quicksilver. 

The New Almaden mine is in Santa Clara County. At present, all 
the levels below the 800-foot are under water and of late years very little 
ore has been taken from the old mine. Most of the recent production 
of the New Almaden Co., Inc., which for 1917 amounted to 2,683 flasks, 
has come from the El Senador mine, northeast of the old mine, and from 
quicksilver recovered from ground under old furnaces and condensers. 
In the New Almaden, the El Senador, and in the neighboring New 
Guadalupe, which produced 3,100 flasks in 1917, the ore occurs as 
irregular bodies in serpentine. Close to the mine now being worked 
by the New Guadalupe Mining Co., and owned by the same company, 
is the original Guadalupe mine, once highly productive but now long 
idle. 

The Oceanic mine, in San Luis Obispo County, ranked fourth in 
productiveness in California in 1917, with an output of 1,246 flasks. 
The ore occurs as an impregnation of sandstone. The average winnable 
tenor of the ore in 1917 was 0.185 per cent. Other mines in California 



MERCURY • 343 

which yielded from 500 to 1,000 flasks in 1917 are the Great Eastern, the 
Cloverdale, and the Culver-Baer, all in Sonoma County. Those whose 
output was between 400 and 500 flasks are the St. Johns, and the Helen, 
in Lake County. 

Nevada contains many widely scattered deposits of quicksilver ore, 
no one of winch has yet been worked on an extensive scale, although a few 
have been fairly productive for short periods. The ores occur in rhyolite 
of Tertiary age and in limestone or associated sedimentary beds of various 
ages from Paleozoic to Mesozoic. The total yield from Nevada in 1917 
was 997 flasks, nearly half of which came from the Farnham and Drew 
mine, east of Mina, which closed for lack of ore near the end of the year. 
The next mine in point of yield, the Goldbanks, in Humboldt county, is 
also at present non-productive. 

In Texas the principal quicksilver deposits are in the Terlingua dis- 
trict, in Brewster County. The ore occurs along fissure zones in Cre- 
taceous limestones and shales, generally in proximity to intrusive rock. 
The principal mines are the Chisos, Mariposa, Big Bend, and Dallas. 

In Mexico quicksilver deposits in the states of San Luis Potosi, 
Guerrero, and Durango are said to be yielding considerable quicksilver, 
even in the present disturbed condition of the country. A quicksilver 
dealer, testifying at the Tariff Commission hearing in San Francisco, on 
June 26, 1918, said that 400 flasks a month was being exported into the 
United States, but a considerable part of this was probably reclaimed 
quicksilver that has been used in the amalgamation of silver ores. 

South America. — Quicksilver deposits are known in Colombia, Ecu- 
ador, Bolivia, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and Peru, but only those in Peru 
seem to be of present economic importance, and the production of that 
country in 1916 was only 62 flasks (2.1 metric tons). The most famous 
deposits in Peru are those at Huancavelica, particularly those of the Santa 
Barbara mine, on the east flank of the western chain of the Andes. These 
have been worked since 1566 and are said to have yielded 46,500 metric 
tons (1,366,480 flasks of 75 pounds) before 1790. The production in the 
19th century has been estimated at 3,500 metric tons (102,865 flasks). 
The ore bodies are numerous, irregular, and occur in stratified rocks that 
are cut by igneous rocks. In 1916 the greater part of the quicksilver- 
bearing ground in the Huancavelica district was purchased by E. E. 
Fernandini, of Lima, and there appears to be some prospect of a resump- 
tion of active mining. 

CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE FUTURE 

As with most metalliferous ores that have been formed later than the 
deposition or solidification of their inclosing rocks, the ores of quicksilver 
are most likely to be found in regions of eruptive activity and complex 
geologic structure, especially in regions of comparatively late volcanic 



344 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

disturbance. It follows that new deposits are most likely to be dis- 
covered within the areas of Tertiary or post-Tertiary volcanic activity, 
as in the Cordilleran belts of North and South America, the eastern coast 
of Asia, certain parts of Oceania, and the shores of the Mediterranean. 
Alaska, Mexico, and the western part of South America seem to offer the 
greatest possibilities of future productivity, but there is little probability 
of any important changes in the sources of quicksilver taking place in 
the near future. The value of a quicksilver deposit can be ascertained 
as a rule only by mining exploration, and in very few quicksilver mines 
can any safe estimate be made of "undeveloped" ore. The known facts 
afford no secure basis for predicting that in the near future some now 
unimportant district will, within the next ten years, wrest the supremacy 
in production from Spain, or compete with Austria, Italy, California, or 
Texas. As regards the principal known sources, it appears that the high- 
water mark of productivity in California has long been passed, although 
the mines are still capable of increasing their present production under 
sufficient stimulus. The Italian output has been increasing of late 
years, but whether this represents the discovery of new ore bodies or 
indicates a longer life for the Monte Amiata district is uncertain. A 
permanent improvement in the political conditions in Mexico, with a 
continuance of the present, or higher, prices, would probably lead to a 
notable increase in yield from that country. There is some probability 
also that Peru may again become an important source of quicksilver, 

CHANGES IN PRACTICE 

The quicksilver industry is less likely to be modified by changes in 
mining methods than by improvements in metallurgy. Although very 
simple in principle, the treatment of quicksilver ores, owing to the 
mobility and elusiveness of the metal both in the liquid and vaporized 
condition, is beset with many practical difficulties. 

Coarsely broken ore is generally treated in various types of simple 
shaft furnaces, the fuel being either mixed with the charge or burned in a 
firebox. Finely broken or pulverulent ore, however, such as forms the 
larger part of the material from most quicksilver mines, requires different 
treatment. In Europe the common type of furnace for fine ore is the Spirek 
and in the United States the Scott-Hutner, or, as more commonly called, 
the Scott furnace. In both, the ore descends by gravity over tiles of fire- 
clay so shaped and placed as to permit the flame to pass back and forth 
through passages under tiles, the passageways or flues being formed 
partly by the tiles and partly by the ore itself. From the furnace the 
mercury-laden vapors are conducted through a series of condensing 
chambers of brick, iron, wood, or other material, in which the metal 
collects. 



MERCURY 345 

When intelligently operated, the Scott furnace is remarkably eco- 
nomical and efficient; but its construction is expensive and requires spe- 
cially skilled masons. Moreover the furnace is difficult to repair, and once 
erected can not be moved. These are serious disadvantages to the man 
of small capital who is developing a new mine, and he usually has to fall 
back on retorts which are expensive to operate and are unsatisfactory 
except for relatively small quantities of rich ore. 

Of late years attempts have been made in California and Texas to 
use slightly modified rotary cement-kilns for treating quicksilver ores. 
This innovation is promising and seems likely to prove successful. Such 
a furnace, although it may not displace the Scott under some conditions, 
does not require elaborate masonry structure, and its use may lead to a 
considerably increased production from the smaller mines. 

The condensing systems used with quicksilver furnaces differ greatly 
and at no two mines in the United States are they identical. The brick 
condensing chambers formerly so extensively used with the Scott furnace 
are expensive to build; also the bricks are poor conductors of heat and 
absorb large quantities of quicksilver. The recent tendency in California 
has been to replace the brick chambers with large boxes or cylindrical 
tanks of wood. European practice, followed by one mine in Oregon and 
one in Texas, favors condensers constructed of vitrified earthenware 
pipe. The whole question of quicksilver condensation calls for study 
and skillful experiment. The establishment of a standard of practice 
would increase production by elimination of much of the loss and dis- 
couragement that come from inefficient individual efforts to collect the 
mercury from the furnace vapors and gases in the most complete and 
economical way. 

POLITICAL CONTROL 

The quicksilver industry offers two conspicuous examples of the 
direct political control of mineral resources. The Almaden mine, whose 
output is such as in normal times to determine the market for quicksilver, 
has been owned and worked by the Spanish government since 1645, and 
the Idria mine up until the close of the war was owned by the Austro- 
Hungarian government. 

The Spanish government, on the basis of competitive proposals, 
contracts with the successful bidder for the sale of the quicksilver for 
periods of ten years. For a number of successive periods the contract 
has been awarded to the Rothschilds of London, the present one dating 
from June 1, 1912. The contractors bind themselves to sell, in London, 
the greatest possible quantity of quicksilver, which they take f.o.b. at 
the reduction plant at Almaden, at prices above 7 pounds per flask, 
They receive a commission of lJi per cent, of the amount of the sale; 6 
shillings for each flask shipped from Spain to London; and 10 per cent. 



346 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

of the amount by which the sales price exceeds 8 pounds 2 shillings per 
flask. The Spanish government reserves from the operation of this con- 
tract 500 flasks 1 annually for the national requirements of Spain. By 
this arrangement, although the mine is owned by Spain, the market has 
been controlled in London. During the war the sale of Almaden mercury 
was taken over by the Admiralty through Messrs. Rothschild. The 
quantity received in London from Almaden in 1917 was about 25,000 
flasks. 

The Konia mine, in Asia Minor, reverted to the Turkish government 
in 1912, but its output, as previously noted, is inconsiderable. 

The quicksilver mines of the Monte Amiata district, Italy, although 
less obviously illustrative of political control than those just mentioned, 
should perhaps be referred to in the present connection. German capital 
has been dominant in their development in the late years before the war, 
and the most productive mines are credibly reported to have been owned 
wholly or in part by the German Emperor. With the entry of Italy into 
the war they were seized by the Italian government. The Italian mines 
produced about 28,000 flasks, of which from 12,000 to 15,000 flasks were 
purchased by the British Admiralty. 

COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

Under present practice the reduction of quicksilver ores is almost 
invariably at the mine, both mine and reduction works being under the 
same ownership. They must therefore be considered together for the 
purpose of the present inquiry. 

The most conspicuous example of commercial control is that exercised 
by the Rothschilds of London, who do not own the resources that give 
them this pre-eminence. The yield of the remarkably rich Almaden 
mine, whose annual output surpasses that of any other mine and in 1916 
exceeded that of any country except Spain (whose ore, even when care- 
lessly worked, yields quicksilver at low cost, and whose known reserves 
are large), enables the Rothschilds, in time of peace and subject to the 
minimum fixed price in their contract, to determine the price at which 
quicksilver shall be sold in the world's markets. Another but much 
smaller factor in making London the leading quicksilver mart of the 
world is the control by British capital of the principal mines in the Oviedo 
district, in northern Spain. 

In the United States, the country which ranks next to Spain as a 
producer of quicksilver, the mines are all owned by corporations or 
individuals, and so far as known, there is at present no formal combina- 
tion or understanding between these owners to control output or sales. 
Some years ago most of the leading producers in California formed the 

1 Increased to 10,000 flasks in 1919. 



MERCURY 347 

Eureka company, which acted as selling agent and to some extent was 
able to control prices. Often referred to by those outside of it as the 
" quicksilver trust," this organization was abandoned after a brief exist- 
ence. The firm of Haas Brothers, of San Francisco (distinct from Haas 
Brothers, of New York) , took a leading part in the Eureka company, and 
since its dissolution has fulfilled many of the functions that the company 
was to perform. The firm owns stock in the leading mine on the Pacific 
Coast and acts as selling agents for the New Idria Quicksilver Mining 
Co., whom it charges 1 per cent 1 ., whereas it charges others 2^ per cent. 
It also buys the metal for itself, usually from the smaller producers, at 
prices generally much below the current market quotation, and is to 
supply operators with empty flasks, but only on condition that Haas 
Brothers shall buy the product or sell it on commission Other brokers 
who handle important quantities of quicksilver on the Pacific Coast are 
Atkins, Kroll & Co., and the Braun-Knecht-Hiemann Co., both of San 
Francisco. So far as known these two firms have no ownership in quick- 
silver mines and sell only on commission. 

The quicksilver mines in Texas are owned by American citizens or 
American corporations. The ore from each is independently worked and 
the quicksilver is sold by the individual producers. 

The mercury deposits of Mexico are owned, as far as is known, by 
native Mexicans. British capital is probably interested in some of the 
larger mines. The formerly productive quicksilver mines at Huancave- 
lica, Peru, have been purchased by E. E. Fernandini, of Lima, and may 
again contribute to the world's supply. 

So far as known to the writer of this article, patents, secret processes 
or trade agreements play no part in the control of quicksilver resources. 

During the war Germany and her allies controlled the quicksilver 
deposits of Australia, Serbia, Turkey and probably European Russia. 
Only the Idria deposit, and perhaps the Zips deposit, in Austria, are 
important, and the available annual supply for the Teutonic allies was 
probably 25,000 to 30,000 flasks. The Entente allies controlled the 
deposits of the United States, yielding about 36,000 flasks annually; of 
Italy, yielding about 28,000 flasks; and controlled, although they did not 
own, the deposits of neutral Spain, yielding from 30,000 to 41,000 flasks 
annually. The Chinese mercury deposits were possibly drawn upon to 
some extent by Japan, who, like Britain and France, has no deposits of 
her own that are worth mentioning. 

SUMMARY 

The chief uses of mercury and mercury compounds, in general order 
of decreasing importance, are as follows: In the manufacture of drugs 
and chemicals, including calomel, corrosive sublimate, and glacial acetic 

1 This connection is reported to have been broken in 1919. 



348 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

acid; as a detonator for high explosives; as vermilion pigment; in elec- 
trical apparatus, thermostats, gas governors, and other appliances; in 
the amalgamation of gold and silver ores; in anti-fouling marine paint; 
in compounds to prevent boiler scale; in cosmetics; and in dental amal- 
gam. There are comparatively few applications of mercury where a 
substitute could not be employed, although the substitute might not be 
as economical or as satisfactory. 

In general the ores of quicksilver do not extend to great depths and 
show on the whole a close association with Tertiary and Quaternary 
igneous rocks that have not been subjected to long and deep erosion. 
There are some notable exceptions, however, to these generalizations. 
New deposits of mercury are most likely to be discovered on the eastern 
coast of Asia, in certain parts of Oceania, on the shores of the Mediter- 
ranean, or in the Cordilleran belts of North and South America. The 
known facts afford no secure basis for predicting that there will be within 
the next ten years any marked shift from the present main sources of 
supply to some newly discovered deposit. 

The richest mercury deposits are at Almaden, central Spain ; at Idria, 
Austria-Hungary; and in the Monte Amiata district of Italy. Other 
productive deposits are situated near Oviedo and Granada, Spain; in 
the Donetz coal basin, Russia; near Aidin, Turkey; in the province of 
Kweichow, China; in Oregon, California, Nevada, and Texas; in San 
Luis Potosi, Guerrero, and Durango, Mexico; and in Peru. Many 
deposits at present unproductive are known in other parts of the world. 

The political control of the quicksilver deposits corresponds for the most 
part with geographic location. The rich deposits of Almaden, in Spain, 
and Idria, in old Austria-Hungary, are government-owned. The Spanish 
government, on the basis of competitive proposals, contracts with the 
successful bidder for the sale of the quicksilver for a period of ten years. 
The contract has been awarded to the Rothschilds of London for a num- 
ber of successive periods. This control of the output of the Spanish 
mines gives the Rothschilds a control of the world's quicksilver market. 
The Spanish government reserves a sufficient number of flasks annually 
for the national requirements of Spain. The Konia mine, in Asia Minor, 
has been the property of the Turkish government since 1912. It is be- 
lieved that the most productive mines of the Monte Amiata district, Italy, 
were owned wholly or in part by the German Emperor; with the entry of 
Italy into the war they were seized by the Italian government. The 
mines of the United States are all controlled by corporations or individ- 
uals. It is believed that the mines of Mexico are owned by Mexican 
citizens, although British capital may be invested in some of them. The 
mines at Huancavelica, Peru, have been purchased by Senor E. E. 
Fernandini, of Lima. 



CHAPTER XIX 
BAUXITE AND ALUMINUM 

By J. M. Hill 
USES OF BAUXITE AND ALUMINUM 

Bauxite, aluminum oxide, besides being the chief ore of aluminum, 
has an important use in the manufacture of artificial abrasives which are 
of wide application in all metal-fabricating industries. Bauxite is also 
the basis of an extensive chemical industry, being the crude material 
from which alum, aluminum sulphate, and several other chemicals used 
for water purification, dyeing, and tanning are made. A rapidly growing 
use for bauxite is in the manufacture of bauxite brick for furnace linings. 
The more essential uses of bauxite are for the manufacture of aluminum 
and abrasives, though it seems doubtful whether the utilization of bauxite 
for chemicals could be much restricted. The use of bauxite for refrac- 
tories is relatively small. In 1917 nearly 65 per cent, of the domestic out- 
put of bauxite went into aluminum, nearly 13 per cent, was taken by 
manufactures of aluminum salts, 19 per cent, was consumed in the 
manufacture of bauxite abrasives, and 3 per cent, was used by makers of 
bauxite refractories. 

The uses of aluminum are myriad, chief among them are in the 
manufacture of parts of internal-combustion engines, and the fabrication 
of industrial and household utensils. 

CHANGES IN PRACTICE OF ALUMINUM MANUFACTURE 

Heretofore bauxites low in silica (2 to 5 per cent. SiC>2) have been used 
for the preparation of alumina for the manufacture of aluminum. Many 
experimenters have endeavored to utilize low-grade (high-silica) bauxites, 
or aluminum silicates for the recovery of alumina. These experiments 
show that it is chemically possible to produce low-silica alumina from 
many aluminous materials, but not on a commercially profitable basis. 
It seems reasonably certain that one or more of the methods of handling 
low-grade bauxite or even aluminous silicates will be developed to the 
commercial stage, even under ordinary conditions, in the near future. 
That event should tend to revolutionize the aluminum industry, as clays 
and shales carrying from 25 to 35 per cent. A1 2 3 are of widespread occur- 
rence. Whether it would materially lower the price of aluminum is more 
doubtful, for the costs of manufacture would be raised by the increased 
cost of treating the low-grade crude material. 

349 



350 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The European bauxite deposits are in folded sedimentary rocks, 
mainly of Cretaceous age. In the United States bauxite deposits are 
> surficial and have resulted from the alteration of either sedimentary 
j kaolin (aluminum silicate) or kaolin derived from the weathering of 
J syenite or of dolomitic limestones. In the tropical fields, which have as 
I yet been little exploited and are in fact little known, the bauxites seem- 
ingly are surficial deposits derived from the alteration of feldspathic 
rocks. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The chief bauxite deposits of Europe are in the provinces of Var and 
Herault, in southern France, though other deposits are known in Bouches 
du Rhone and several other southern provinces. In central Italy 
bauxite has been mined for some years. In Germany low-grade bauxite 
has been mined in the Vogelsberg Mountains, Hesse, near Konigs winter, 
in the lower Rhine country, and is known in Hanover. In the former 
Empire of Austria-Hungary there are extensive bauxite deposits in the 
Bihar Mountains and in the provinces of Istria, Croatia, and Dalmatia. 
Bauxite is also known in northwestern Russia, about 200 miles southeast 
of Petrograd. Bauxite has been mined for a number of years from beds 
in northwestern Ireland. 

In the United States, bauxite has been mined for years in central 
Arkansas, northwestern Georgia, northeastern Alabama, and south- 
eastern Tennessee, and more recently from the central Georgia field, which 
is being extended into west-central Georgia. 

In South America, extensive deposits of good bauxite have been found 
in British and Dutch Guiana, and it is reported that there are evidences 
of bauxite in eastern Venezuela, western French Guiana, and northeastern 
Brazil. 

In Africa, bauxite of good quality is reported to have been developed 
near the coast of French Guinea and to have been found in a number of 
inland localities in that colony. Vague rumors are current of large areas 
of bauxitic laterite 1 at many places in equatorial Africa. 

In the literature of the geology of India there are many references to 
bauxitic laterites, and it is reported that recently some of the Deccan 
bauxite deposits are being exploited. 

In southwestern and eastern Australia some of the laterites are 
reported to be bauxitic, though so far as known no bauxite has been 
developed. 

There is a persistent rumor, without confirmation, that bauxite has 

1 Laterite is the general name for rock of any kind that is in a thoroughly softened 
and decomposed state, due to alteration or weathering at the surface. 



BAUXITE AND ALUMINUM 



351 



been discovered recently in China. As to this deposit no information is 
available. 

The table below shows the world's production of bauxite for a number 
of years. Although the figures give an idea of the relative importance of 
the deposits with respect to consuming centers, it is not believed that 
they represent relative importance with regard to the future. It seems 
unavoidable to conclude that the tropical countries hold immense 
reserves of bauxite and that some day the aluminum industry will be 
nearer the tropics than it is at present. 

Table 63. — World's Output op Bauxite, 1910-1916 

(Output in tons) 



Country 


1910 


1911 


1912 


1913 


1914 


1915 


1916 


United States . . 

France 

United King- 
dom (Ireland). 
Italy 


148,932 
192,913 

3,792 

4,524 

66 


155,618 
250,818 

6,007 

5,600 

12 


159,865 

254,851 

5,790 

6,596 

950 


210,241 
304,407 

6,055 
6,843 
1,184 


219,318 

0) 

8,286 

3,844 

514 


297,041 

C 1 ) 

11,723 

6,504 

400 


425,100 

0) 

10,329 

8,746 


India 


750 






Total 


350,277 


418,055 


428,052 


528,730 









1 No statistics available. 

The production of bauxite in the United States in 1917 was 568,690 long tons. 



POLITICAL CONTROL 

France and the United States hold within their boundaries the largest 
deposits of bauxite that have been worked in the past. England controls, 
through her colonial possessions, a large share of the equatorial areas 
that probably contain much of the undeveloped bauxite. France and 
Holland each have possessions in the tropics in which bauxite is known, 
and it seems probable that bauxite may be found in the colonies of 
Portugal and of Belgium and in those formerly controlled by Germany. 

It is reported that England has placed certain restrictions on the 
acquisition of bauxite deposits in India and Guiana by foreign individuals 
or corporations. It is known that she has restricted the destination of 
bauxite exported from British Guiana. The Dutch government is 
understood to have examined recently the bauxite deposits of Dutch 
Guiana, probably with a view to restricting acquisition of property not 
already acquired. Evidently there is some understanding between the 
British, French, and Italian governments which permits the sending of 
French bauxite to the aluminum works of both Italy and England. 

The aluminum works of the world are largely under the political 
domination of the United States, England, France, Germany, Switzer- 



352 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

land, Italy and Norway. The producing capacity of the various coun- 
tries has been estimated as follows: 1 

Producing Capacity op Aluminum Works 

Short tons 

United States and Canada 87,500 

France 20,000 

Switzerland, Germany and Austria 20,000 

Norway 16,000 

England 12,000 

Italy 7,000 

Japan 250 

Total 162,750 

The actual output of the plants included in the above table does not 
represent full capacity, and it seems more reasonable to assume that the 
production at present is probably nearer 150,000 tons a year than the 
total given. There is little question that the United States and Canadian 
plants are producing over half of the world's supply of aluminum. It is 
reported that during 1917 and 1918 extensions of the British and Italian 
works brought their output nearly to the rated plant capacity. 

COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

It is safe to say that the aluminum industries of the various countries 
control to a large extent the bauxite deposits of the world. The princi- 
pal aluminum companies are as follows: Aluminum Company of Ameri- 
ca, British Aluminum Co., L' Aluminium Francaise, Aluminum Industries 
A. G. 

It is commonly known that before the war agreements between these 
four companies stabilized the prices of aluminum throughout the world. 
At present (1919) the outlook is that the Aluminum Company of Ameri- 
ca should be in position to dominate the aluminum industry of the 
world for some years through the expansion of its electrical plants and 
its initiative in acquiring newly discovered deposits of exceptionally pure 
bauxite in South America. It seems quite conceivable that the British 
and French and possibly the German interests may seek to adjust their 
relations so that they can offset the American dominance. 

United States and Canada. — The great bulk of the bauxite deposits of 
the United States seems controlled by the Aluminum Company of America, 
through its subsidiaries, the American Bauxite Co. and the Republic 
Mining & Manufacturing Co. There are small holdings of bauxite 
lands controlled by the National Bauxite Co., a subsidiary of the E. I. 
du Pont de Nemours Co., and by the Norton Co., of Worcester, Mass., 

1 Hill, "J. M., Bauxite and Aluminum in 1916;" United States Geological Sur- 
vey; " Mineral Resources of the United States," Part I, 1917, p. 167. 



BA UXITE AND ALUMINUM 353 

makers of artificial abrasives. Aside from these more important holders, 
there are a few independent operators of bauxite mines, but their com- 
bined output is so small that it can be disregarded. 

All of the aluminum works of the United States and Canada are 
controlled by the Aluminum Company of America, which is dominated 
by the Mellen banking interests, of Pittsburgh, Pa. 

The Guianas. — It is reported that the Aluminum Company of America 
controls about 2,030,000 acres of bauxite land in the British and Dutch 
colonies. In British Guiana the ownership is seemingly in the Canadian 
Bauxite Co. Associated with the Aluminum Company of America 
in the British Guiana holdings is the Merrimac Chemical Co., of Boston. 
It is also reported that the Norton Co., of Worcester, Mass., has acquired 
in Dutch Guiana small holdings of bauxite lands. There are no works 
utilizing bauxite in Dutch Guiana. 

France. — Prior to the war, some of the large deposits of high-grade 
bauxite in the Province of Var were controlled by the " Bauxites de 
France," a German enterprise, but this control was naturally suspended 
at the beginning of hostilities, and it will probably not be resumed. The 
French bauxite industry is largely in the hands of the French producers of 
aluminum mentioned below, though some deposits are said to be con- 
trolled by the British Aluminum Co. through its control of the Union des 
Bauxites company. 

The French aluminum industry is centralized under one selling agency, 
L'Aluminium Frangaise, in which the following five companies partici- 
pate: 

Compagnie des Produits Chemiques d'Alais et de la Camargne, 
Societe Electro-Metallurgique Frangaise, Societe d'Electro Chemie, 
Societe des Forces Motrices de FArve, Societe Electro-Metallurgique de 
Pyrenees. 

It is said that the stock of the selling company is owned by participat- 
ing companies in proportion to their output of aluminum, which would 
indicate that the control of rAluminium Frangaise rests with the first 
two companies above. 

Great Britain. — The bauxite deposits in County Antrim, Ireland, are 
seemingly controlled exclusively by the British Aluminium Co. The 
British Aluminium Co. is the sole producer of the metal in England, 
operating plants at Foyers and Lock Leven, in the British Isles, and 
plants in Norway. 

Norway. — All the bauxite used by the aluminum works in Norway is 
of French or British origin. There are no deposits of bauxite in the coun- 
try. The British Aluminium Co. controls the aluminum plants at Hige- 
land and Strangfiord through the Anglo-Norwegian Co. The Compagnie 
des Produits Chemiques d'Alais et de la Camargne (French) largely con- 
trols the Societe Norvegienne des Nitrures, which operates aluminum 

23 



354 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

works at Arendal and Tyssedal. A Norwegian company, the Norske 
Aluminum Co., has been recently organized to make aluminum. 

Italy. — There is little information concerning the ownership of the 
Italian bauxite deposits, but presumably they are controlled by the 
producers of aluminum. The principal aluminum manufacturer is the 
Societa Italiana per la Fabricazione delFAlluminio, which is under 
Italian-French control. 

The new aluminum company, L'Allumino Italiano, recently organized 
in Italy, if reports are true, may be in part controlled by German and 
Swiss interests. As the company was organized during the war, it does 
not seem reasonable to suppose that German participation would be 
permitted. 

Central Powers. — Apparently most of the aluminum industry of these 
countries is controlled by a German-Swiss company, Societe Swisse 
pour Tlndustrie de rAluminium, or Aluminum Industrie, A. G., which 
operates plants at Neuhausen, Chippes, Navisance, and Borgne,in Switzer- 
land; at Rheinfelden, Germany, and at Lend and Rauris, in Austria. A 
small quantity of aluminum is also made by the German firm, Gebriider 
Guilini, at its plant at Martigny. It is reported that the Aluminum 
Fabrik-Martigny, A. G., has recently been formed with G. Guilini at its 
head, which is possibly a reorganization of the former concern. 

SUMMARY 

By far the largest and most important use of bauxite is for the extrac- 
tion of aluminum, a metal used mainly in the manufacture of parts for 
internal-combustion engines and of industrial and household utensils. 
Bauxite is also used in the manufacture of artificial abrasives, as a source 
of certain aluminum salts, and in the manufacture of refractory bricks. 
The first two uses, the manufacture of aluminum and abrasives, are the 
most essential, though it would be difficult to restrict to any great extent 
the use in the chemical industry. 

The principal bauxite deposits of the world are in the provinces of 
Var and Herault, southern France; in the former empire of Austria- 
Hungary; in Arkansas, Georgia, and Alabama; in British and Dutch 
Guiana; and in northwestern Ireland. Minor deposits are located in 
Germany, Russia, Venezuela, French Guiana, Brazil, Africa, Australia, 
and probably China. It is believed that the tropical countries hold 
immense reserves of bauxite. 

Experiments have shown that it is chemically possible to manufacture 
aluminum from the low-grade (high-silicate) bauxite ores. No commer- 
cial process has been perfected, but it seems certain that one or more 
methods will be developed to the commercial stage in the near future. 
A reduction in the price of aluminum is not to be expected as a result of 



BAUXITE AND ALUMINUM 355 

this change in practice, however, for the use of low-grade materials will 
undoubtedly increase the manufacturing costs. 

The largest producing bauxite deposits are controlled politically by 
the United States and France. Great Britain controls a large share of 
the equatorial regions that probably contain most of the undeveloped 
deposits. Bauxite may also be found in the colonial possessions of 
Portugal and Belgium, and in those formerly owned by Germany. The 
aluminum works of the world are controlled by the United States, Great 
Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Norway. 

Most of the bauxite deposits of the United States are owned by the 
Aluminum Company of America, which is dominated by the Mellen 
banking interests, of Pittsburgh, and controls all of the aluminum works of 
the United States and Canada. Small holdings in the United States are 
controlled by a subsidiary of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours Co., and by 
the Norton Co., of Worcester, Mass. The Aluminum Company of 
America also controls, through subsidiaries, large areas of bauxite land in 
British and Dutch Guiana. Before the war some of the large French 
deposits were controlled by German interests. The French industry is 
largely in the hands of French producers of aluminum, although some of 
the deposits are said to be controlled by British capital. The main 
French companies have organized a selling company, 1/ Aluminium 
Francaise. 

The British Aluminium Co., controls the deposits in Ireland and is 
the sole producer of aluminum in England. British capital also con- 
trols aluminum works in Norway. The principal bauxite deposits of 
Italy are probably controlled by the Societa Italiana per la Fabricazione 
dell' Alluminio, an Italian-French company. Apparently most of the 
aluminum industry of the Central Powers is controlled by a German- 
Swiss company. American interests are reported to have explored 
bauxite deposits in French Guinea, Africa, but so far as known have 
produced no bauxite. 



CHAPTER XX 
EMERY AND CORUNDUM 

By Frank J. Katz 
USES OF EMERY AND CORUNDUM 

Corundum is the natural (mineral) crystalline oxide of aluminum. 
Emery is a very fine-grained and intimate intergrowth of corundum and 
other minerals, chiefly magnetite, some varities containing also important 
amounts of hematite, spinel, and chlorite. Both emery and corundum 
are very hard, and break into rough, sharp grains; hence they are used as 
abrasives for grinding, dressing, and polishing metals — chiefly iron and 
steel — and glass, and, to a less extent, stone, wood, and other materials. 
Emery and corundum are used loose in the form of grains, powders, and 
flours, and also as grains made up into solid wheels, cylinders, blocks, 
and files of many shapes by means of a great variety of binders. The 
essential uses are in work on iron and steel and glass. The softer metals 
and other materials can be worked in many cases to better advantage 
with other abrasives, such as quartz, tripoli, garnet and pumice. 

The essential operations for which emery and corundum are used can 
be performed with the artificial carbide and alumina abrasives. For 
some work, however, such substitutions appear not to be advisable, as 
the abrasive quality and efficiency of both the natural and artificial 
abrasives depend not only on the hardness of these materials, but also 
on a number of other factors: among these being the physical qualities 
of the materials worked; the sharpness of edges and angles of broken 
particles of the abrasive ; the manner in which the abrasive breaks down 
under use; the manner of, and materials used in, binding the abrasive 
particles; and the speed and pressure with which they are applied to the 
work. 

Of the various kinds of material abraded, each calls for different 
grades and kinds of abrasives, and for variation in the above factors in 
the use of these abrasives in order to insure most efficient use. Conse- 
quently, it is almost impossible to determine arbitrarily the uses for which 
each of the various abrasive materials is essential. This much, at least, 
seems certain — that for finishing and polishing glass, particularly optical 
glass and plate glass, there is as yet no general agreement that satisfactory 
substitutes are available for the better grades of Turkish and Greek 
emery, although experiments in manufacture and use of suitable artificial 
abrasives have been successful. 

356 



EMERY AND CORUNDUM 357 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The known emery deposits are products of magmatic differentia- 
tion or of regional metamorphism, or of combined contact and regional 
metamorphism of limestone, presumably argillaceous, and of argillaceous 
sediments. A study of certain individual deposits, therefore, makes pos- 
sible some forecast as to future supplies in some regions, particularly 
those in which the emery deposits are intimately related to certain beds 
in metamorphic sedimentary formations in close proximity to igneous 
rocks. The emery bodies are, however, as a rule, spotted or irregularly 
distributed, and reliable estimates of reserves are difficult. 

Corundum, in a number of associations, is an original constituent 
of a great variety of igneous rocks, such as peridotites, anorthosites, 
syenites, nepheline syenites, and syenite pegmatites. It is also abund- 
antly found in regionally metamorphosed rocks and in contact metamor- 
phic zones, occurring in serpentines, mica schists, quartz schists, and 
crystalline limestones. A third important source of corundum is alluvial 
deposits. Corundum is not a characteristic or essential constituent in 
any of these types of rocks and is present in alluvial deposits in restricted 
localities only. Furthermore, its distribution and its concentration, 
when present, are irregular and unsystematic, and there are, therefore, no 
geologic guides by which future supplies can be forecast without intensive 
study of each individual occurrence. 

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION 

The chief deposits of emery and corundum in the United States are in 
the eastern seaboard or Appalachian states. 

The emery deposits of Chester, Massachusetts, are in a narrow band 
less than 500 feet wide that has been traced for nearly five miles. The 
Chester deposits have been worked at various times since the eighties 
and up to 1913. 

Emery deposits near Peekskill, New York, are associated with igneous 
rocks in an area of 20 to 25 square miles. These deposits have been 
worked since 1889. Some of the material mined is a true emery, that is, 
an intimate mixture of corundum and magnetite, but most of it is largely 
a mixture of spinel and magnetite, which, while not a true emery, makes 
an excellent abrasive. In 1916 and 1917, the annual output of ore was 
approximately 15,000 tons. 

In the vicinity of Whittle, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, spinel 
emery, somewhat like the New York emery, but containing more corun- 
dum, is abundant. The deposits in this region have already produced 
considerable emery and may be counted on for a large supply. 

Corundum is associated with a serpentine belt extending through 



358 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Lancaster, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Bucks counties, Penn- 
sylvania, and through adjoining counties in Delaware and Maryland. 
The deposits in this region do not seem to be of commercial importance. 

Corundum is found in a large number of localities in North Carolina. 
The most important occurrences of corundum are in or near peridotite 
masses, also in schists, and in alluvial deposits. Active mining work was 
first begun in 1871 and continued until about 1906, when North Carolina 
corundum was driven from the market by the competition of Canadian 
corundum and artificial abrasives. Corundum mining was revived in 
1915, and the three properties worked in 1917 made an output of 820 tons. 
There is unquestionably a very large reserve of corundum in this region, 
but transportation is difficult and efficient labor is scarce; so that there is 
little immediate prospect of a large development. 

The only commercially important deposits of abrasive corundum 
west of the Appalachian Mountains are in the central part of Gallatin 
County near Salesville, Montana, where corundum occurs in syenite and 
syenite pegmatite. The deposits have been worked by three companies, 
and up to 1903, when operations ceased, had produced several hundred 
tons of corundum. 

The sources in Canada of abrasive corundum of commercial impor- 
tance are limited to the corundum syenites and anorthosites in central 
Ontario. These deposits have been developed and mined only at the 
Burgess mines and at Craigmont. Corundum mining as an industry 
in Canada began in 1900. The production reached a maximum in 1906 
and was smaller and fairly uniform from 1907 to 1913, in which year 
operations were practically suspended. 

The reported occurrences of corundum in Mexico and Central and 
South America are chiefly of the gem variety. Emery is reported from 
Musco, Colombia, and common corundum is reported as especially 
abundant at localities in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

The only occurrence of emery and corundum of commercial impor- 
tance in Europe is in the islands of the Grecian Archipelago, particularly 
the Island of Naxos. The deposits occur there as lenses and masses in 
limestones and in the vicinity of granites. Exploration and develop- 
ment work has been superficial, but reserves or future supplies there 
are probably enormous. Annual exports during the years 1897 to 1914 
averaged 6,800 metric tons. 

In Asia there are commercial corundum deposits in Asiatic Turkey 
and in India. 

The emery deposits of Asiatic Turkey are near Smyrna. The Turkish 
emery is similar in origin and general character to the Greek emery, 
except that none is found in Asia Minor of quite the superior quality of 
that of Naxos. The main source of supply seems so far to have been 
from the detrital deposits. It seems almost certain that supplies are 



EMERY AND CORUNDUM 359 

large. The emery mines of Asia Minor are very old and have annually 
contributed large quantities to the world's supply, their output having 
been larger than from any other region in the world. Statistics for recent 
years are lacking. The recorded output in official reports of the Turkish 
government was about 62,000 metric tons in 1908 and about 25,000 in 
1909. 

The corundum deposits of India are numerous and include not only 
the common abrasive varieties but also the most highly prized gem 
varieties. Commercially important deposits of the abrasive variety 
occur in the presidency of Madras. The following provinces and native 
states also contain the mineral in more or less abundance: Afghanistan, 
Bengal, Burma, Central Provinces, Punjab, and Travancore. 

Available data on the production of corundum in India indicate an 
output between 100 and 500 long tons a year, up to and including 1915. 
In 1916 the production was approximately 2,000 long tons and since then 
it has probably equaled or exceeded that figure. Nothing definite is 
known as to the corundum resources of India, except that they are un- 
doubtedly large. 

The only recorded deposits of abrasive corundum in commercial 
quantities on the continent of Africa are in the vicinity of Pretoria, in the 
Transvaal, where corundum, probably occurring originally in schists, 
is concentrated from residual material on the land surface. Little in- 
formation concerning these corundum deposits is available, but it is 
probable that large reserves may be developed. The production, which 
had been slight or negligible prior to 1912, expanded greatly in 1917 to 
about 3,000 long tons. 

Corundum appears to be abundant on the Island of Madagascar, 
where large amounts of gem stuff and abrasive materials have been found 
in alluvial deposits. The production of abrasive corundum, which was 
very small in 1910, expanded to about 1,100 metric tons in 1913, and 
approximately 1,000 metric tons in 1916. 

DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN THE NEAR FUTURE 

No material changes in geographic distribution of resources appear 
probable in the near future. None of the deposits now productive is 
approaching exhaustion, and only concerning emery in Virginia, where 
somewhat larger emery production may be expected, is information at 
hand upon which to forecast changes in output. 

Substitution of artificial abrasives for emery and corundum may be 
extended. Experiments conducted early in 1918 looking toward the 
development of an artificial abrasive suitable for use in optical and plate- 
glass work have been successful, so that there may remain no industrial 
operation wholly dependent on emery and corundum. The complete 



360 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

supplanting of the natural abrasives, however, will depend in part on the 
supply of bauxite available for manufacture into artificial abrasives. 
At present the United States supplies of bauxite are sufficient for such 
use. 

The demand in Britain and France for Indian and South African 
corundum and Greek emery would undoubtedly diminish if the French 
artificial abrasive plants were in full operation. Such a change would 
also probably cut down exports of artificial abrasives from the United 
States, and correspondingly affect the demand for emery and corundum. 

POLITICAL CONTROL 

Emery and corundum resources within the United States are owned, 
so far as known, by American citizens, and are in no way state 
controlled. 

The Greek emery industry was formerly a monopoly controlled by 
the Greek government, but the inhabitants of the emery region had 
always maintained their sole right to mine the emery. This right 
was respected, and the Greek government merely regulated and managed 
sales and exports, exacted high royalties, which were changed from time 
to time, fixed prices, and maintained high quality and uniform standards 
of emery for export. The French government during the war assumed 
control of the Naxos emery supply and presumably continued the regu- 
lations of the Greek government. Supplies of Greek emery were avail- 
able only to France and her allies, through allocation by the French 
government. 

COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

In the United States the various emery and corundum deposits are 
in small holdings that are mostly owned by local residents. The mines 
and quarries have been worked by lessees on royalty, generally. A con- 
siderable number of operators are and have been engaged in several 
localities, and there are no trade coalitions. Crushing and grading are 
in the hands of eight independent competitive companies, except in so far 
as they were welded during the war into a trade association by the War 
Trade Board for the purpose of allocating, under Government supervision, 
the small imports of Greek emery to essential industries. 

In Canada the better portions of the corundum deposits seem to be 
controlled largely by one company — Manufacturers Corundum Co. — 
whose owners seem to be dominantly or entirely of Canadian nationality. 

The Greek emery deposits, particularly those of Naxos, are claimed 
to be the inalienable property of the families resident upon the island. 

There is no control of emery and corundum resources through owner- 
ship of crushing, milling, and grading plants, nor through patents or 



EMERY AND CORUNDUM 361 

secret processes of preparation. Trade combinations as affecting emery 
and corundum supply are unknown. There are a number of milling 
companies in the United States, Britain, France, and Germany, who 
compete for the world's supply of raw material, and those of each country 
compete with one another for markets for the graded, prepared material. 

POSITION OF THE NATIONS 

The United States has supplies of inferior emery and resources of 
corundum which are not developed adequately to meet the demands for 
natural abrasive materials. During the war the United States was short 
of the amount of emery and corundum desired by consumers. However, 
this shortage was offset by an excess supply of artificial abrasives. 

England, in India and South Africa, has corundum supplies probably 
more than sufficient for her needs. England is probably well enough 
supplied with these abrasives, particularly as long as she continues to 
import from Canada and the United States the needed artificial abrasives. 

France has no home supply of emery and corundum, but has large 
resources in her colony, Madagascar, and during the war controlled the 
Greek emery supply. Furthermore, France has in reserve rich bauxite 
deposits and hydro-electric power for manufacture of artificial abrasives. 

Germany depended upon Turkish emery during the war. She is short 
of bauxite, but makes large quantities of carborundum. 

Japan probably can supply her needs by drawing on Indian corundum 
resources and on the United States for artificial abrasives. During the 
stringency of supply in 1917 some material was exported to the United 
States from Japan. 

SUMMARY 

Corundum and emery, the latter a close association of corundum with 
certain other minerals, are used as abrasives for grinding and polishing 
metals, glass, stone, and wood. Many of the operations formerly per- 
formed with emery and corundum are now being performed with artificial 
carbide and alumina abrasives. 

The deposits of emery and corundum are few in number, but their 
product is ample for all present needs. Commercially important deposits 
are situated in the Appalachian region of the United States; on the 
islands of the Grecian Archipelago, especially the Island of Naxos ; in the 
Province of Aidin, in Asia Minor; in the presidency of Madras and the 
provinces of Punjab, Bengal, and Travancore, India; in Madagascar; and 
in the Transvaal near Pretoria. 

The geological formation of emery and corundum deposits makes 
impossible any accurate estimate of reserves or any forecast of future 
discoveries. 



362 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



The political control of the emery and corundum resources of the world 
corresponds to the geographical location except as regards the deposits 
on the Island of Naxos. This island is Grecian territory, but the French 
government during the war assumed control of the emery industry and 
allocated supplies of the abrasive only to the industries of France and her 
allies. The deposits of Asia Minor are at present (1920) nominally in 
the control of Turkey, but actually partly in the coastal strips seized and 
held by the Italians and the Greeks after the armistice. Madagascar is 
a French possession, and the Transvaal and India are parts of the British 
Empire. 

The deposits of the United States are owned by a number of small 
independent operators, all American as far as is known. The Canadian 
deposits are controlled largely by one company, the Manufacturers Cor- 
undum Co., whose owners are predominantly or entirely Canadian. The 
Greek emery deposits, particularly those of Naxos, are claimed to be the 
inalienable property of the families resident on the island. 



Table 64. — Production op Emery and Corundum, 1910-1917 



Emery- 



United States 1 



Ore produced 
(long tons) 



Greece 1 



Ore 

shipped 
from 
Syra 

(metric 
tons) 



Turkey 



Corundum 



United States 1 



Grains 
produced 
(long tons) 



Canada 1 



Grains 

shipped 

(long 

tons) 



India 1 



Grains 

produced 

(long 

tons) 



Madagascar 1 



Grains or ore 

produced 
(metric tons) 



So. Africa 1 



Grains 
or ore 
produced 
(long 
tons) 



1910 
1911 
1912 
1913 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 



940 
620 

870 

900 

460 

2,840 

14,400 

15,400 



12,939 


2 


9,845 


2 


7,687 


2 


1,440 


2 


10,226 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 



770 



1,660 


218 


1,270 


275 


1,600 


345 


1,090 


355 


500 


105 


220 


62 


60 


1,868 


160 


2 



11 

150 
496 
,099 
556 
327 
914 



6 4,051 



1 Statistics for United States from U. S. Geol. Survey; for Canada, Canada Dept. Mines; for Greece, 
British Consular Reports quoted in " Mineral Industry; " for India, Records India Geol. Survey; for 
Madagascar, Service des Mines, Madagascar; for South Africa, American Consular Reports. 

2 Figures not available. * No production. * Small unrecorded amount. 
5 Nine months, Jan -June and Oct.-Dec. 



CHAPTER XXI 
MAGNESITE 

By R. W. Stone 
USES OF MAGNESITE 

Magnesite and its derived products are used in a variety of industries, 
the most essential of which, beyond doubt, is metallurgy. Owing to the 
high fusion point and chemical inertness of the oxide of magnesium, 
magnesite is one of the principal minerals used in the metallurgical 
and other industries where highly refractory material is required. For 
this purpose dead-burned magnesite is used in the form of brick or of 
grains. Brick and shapes are employed for lining open-hearth steel 
furnaces, welding, heating, and melting furnaces, reverberatories, settlers, 
and furnaces for refining lead, copper converters, and electrical furnaces. 
Crushed or granular magnesite is used for lining the bottoms of opeD- 
hearth steel furnaces, and in making crucibles and cupels. 

In the manufacture of the cement known as oxychloride or Sorel 
cement the quantity of magnesite used is exceeded only by that used for 
refractory purposes. This cement is employed largely for sanitary floor- 
ing, and to a less extent for wall plaster, both interior and exterior. It is 
used also instead of Portland cement for some forms of exterior construc- 
tion where quick and strong set is required. Magnesite is used in the 
manufacture of wood-pulp paper on the Pacific Coast, in fire-resisting 
paint, as a non-conductor of heat in pipe and furnace coverings, and in 
the manufacture of magnesium chloride, light carbonate, and other prod- 
ucts, including metallic magnesium. 

GEOLOGICAL OCCURRENCE 

Deposits of magnesite are widely distributed throughout the world 
and occur in two distinct forms, amorphous and crystalline. Amorphous 
magnesite, the most common form, is fine-grained, and compact; it is 
usually found in veins or masses in serpentine resulting from the altera- 
tion of magnesia-rich rocks of the peridotite family. To this group 
bdlong the Grecian deposits, nearly all the California deposits, and those 
in Mexico, Venezuela, and other parts of the world. Crystalline mag- 
nesite is medium to coarse grained, and occurs as masses in limestone, 
dolomite or associated sediments which have been metamorphosed. 

363 



364 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

The principal deposits of this class are those in Austria, Hungary, Quebec, 
and Washington. 

Deposits of magnesite are regarded as having originated in three 
ways. The massive non-cry stalline variety, such as that in California 
and Greece, is believed to have been formed by the decomposition of 
serpentine. Magnesite deposits near Bissel, California, and on Muddy 
River, near St. Thomas, Nevada, are said to be of sedimentary origin. 
The Austro-Hungarian, Washington, and Quebec deposits are regarded 
as resulting from the replacement of calcareous sedimentary rocks by 
magnesian-bearing solutions. 

Magnesite deposits that occur as veins in connection with serpen- 
tinized magnesian rocks probably are formed both from the breaking 
down of the serpentine-making minerals and from the serpentine itself. 
It seems probable that usually both serpentine and magnesite are formed 
in the process of decay of the original minerals in peridotite and the 
allied basic rocks, and that during the decay of the serpentine the forma- 
tion of magnesite continues. In any case the magnesia or magnesian 
mineral is changed to carbonate, dissolved by percolating water charged 
with carbon dioxide, and precipitated in cracks and crevices as veins. 
When formed in this way the magnesite occurs in large and small veins, 
lenses, and stockwork, and its distribution and extent are erratic. It 
seems fair to assume that these deposits may extend to the limit of depth 
of easily circulating surface waters, which in favorable conditions may be 
several hundred feet. Faulting, on the other hand, is as likely to cut the 
veins off in depth as in length. Any estimate of available tonnage of 
magnesite in deposits of this type therefore is unwarranted in advance 
of development work. 

Sedimentary deposits such as those of Bissel, California, and near 
St. Thomas, Nevada, are by their nature more regular in occurrence, 
and their tonnage can be estimated from the outcrop in natural ex- 
posures and prospects. 

Replacement deposits like those in Washington and Quebec are not 
so regular as the sedimentary deposits, but are more regular than the 
veins, and tonnage estimates may be based on the surface exposure and 
an assumed depth of 50 to 100 feet. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The known distribution of magnesite deposits is as follows: 
North America. 

Canada: Quebec, British Columbia and elsewhere. 

United States: California, Washington, Nevada. 

Mexico: Lower California on Santa Margarita Island. 
South America. 

Venezuela: Island of Margarita. 



MAGNESITE 365 

Europe. 

Austria, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Norway, 
Sweden, Russia. 
Africa. 

Transvaal, Rhodesia, Portuguese West Africa. 
Asia. 

India, in Madras and Mysore. 
Australia. 

Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania. 
Oceania. 

New Caledonia. 

The following description by countries is in the order given above : 

North America. 

Canada. — The principal magnesite deposits in Canada are in the 
Grenville district, Argenteuil County, Quebec, where the mineral is 
associated with serpentine, dolomite, and other minerals. The magnesite 
in the Grenville district is a glistening cream-white to milk-white or 
gray material that occurs in extensive masses associated with bands or 
lenses of dark green to light-yellow serpentine. Throughout the great 
mass of the deposits the magnesite and dolomite are so similar in appear- 
ance that the detecting of dolomite is difficult. There is considerable 
positive evidence in support of the hypothesis that the deposits have been 
formed by the solution and replacement of crystalline limestone through 
the agency of magnesia-rich solutions. Outcrops of the deposits are up 
to 1,000 feet long and 300 feet wide. It is estimated that there are in 
sight 686,900 tons of magnesite containing less than 12 per cent. CaO 
and 483,700 tons of magnesite-dolomite containing more than 12 per 
cent. CaO. 

In the Atlin mining district, in British Columbia, both magnesite and 
hydromagnesite have been noted, but the extensive masses of hydro- 
magnesite near the town of Atlin are the most important. These de- 
posits are superficial beds of fine powdery white hydromagnesite 6 to 
8 feet thick, that cover areas up to 18 acres in extent. Two groups of 
these deposits are estimated to contain 180,000 tons of hydromagnesite. 

United States. — Magnesite in commercial quantity occurs in Calif ornia, 
Nevada, and Washington. Reports of workable deposits in other states 
have not been verified. 

In California there are magnesite deposits in many places throughout 
the Coast Range and on the west slope of the Sierras, from Mendocino 
and Placer counties on the north to Riverside County on the south. 
Before the war, mining was limited to a few localities and the annual out- 
put was about 10,000 tons, but the demand caused by large reduction in 
imports started active prospecting and development, with the result that 
in 1917 thirteen counties yielded a total of 211,663 tons, valued at 



366 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

$2,116,630. In nine counties the deposits are large and in four counties 
only small deposits have been found as yet. The most important de- 
posits are in Napa, Santa Clara, San Benito, and Tulare counties. In 
1917, 63 per cent, of the crude magnesite produced was mined in Tulare 
County. Practically all of the California magnesite deposits are irregular 
veins in serpentine, resulting from the alteration of magnesian igneous 
rocks. 

In the state of Washington deposits of crystalline magnesite have been 
found at several places. The Washington magnesite differs greatly from 
the California deposits and occurs in larger masses. It is coarsely crystal- 
line, like marble or coarse textured dolomite, and is red, pink, black, 
white, and gray. The Stevens County magnesite has been formed by 
the replacement of lenses of dolomite in sedimentary rocks. The re- 
crystallization of the purer magnesian carbonate may have been sec- 
ondary and influenced by the intrusion of basic magnesian rock which 
occurs above and below the magnesite in some places. The larger 
deposits are 200 or more feet thick and 1,000 or more feet long. Esti- 
mates of one million tons within 100 feet of the surface are reasonable for 
at least three of the deposits. Mining in Washington began in December, 
1916, with a production of 715 tons. The output in 1917 was 105,175 
tons, valued at $783,188. 

The only known deposit of magnesite in Nevada is an extensive sedi- 
mentary bed in the valley of Muddy River, Clark County. The magne- 
site carries more than 5 per cent, lime and more than 11 per cent, silica. 
It has not been developed. 

The total production of magnesite in the United States in 1915 
was 30,499 short tons; in 1916, 154,974 short tons; in 1917, 316,838 short 
tons; and in 1918, 231,605 short tons. 

Mexico. — On the Island of Santa Margarita, in Magdalena Bay, 
Lower California, are extensive deposits of magnesite from which exports 
have been made to the United States. Walls of canyons in the mountains 
show masses of magnesite several feet thick, and magnesite boulders 
strew the stream beds. Large quantities can be obtained without 
mining and need only to be broken up for shipment. An analysis of 
calcined magnesite from Santa Margarita Island shows practically no 
silica, lime, or iron. 

South America. — The deposits on Margarita Island, Venezuela, are of 
the amorphous or California type and occur in veins and stockwork. No 
information is available regarding their extent, but 500 tons were exported 
to the United States in 1915. 

Europe. — The magnesite deposits of Austria and Hungary, which 
until recently furnished much of the world's supply, extend along a 
northeast line for several hundred miles across the two countries. The 
mineral occurs in lenses. A large deposit near Veitsch, Austria, measures 



MAGNESITE 367 

700 to 800 feet from the top to the base. The ore is quarried in a series of 
benches. Another very large deposit in Austria is at Radenthein. The 
magnesite is quarried by great cuts, and lowered by gravity to rotary 
kilns. Calcining is done near the mine and both grain and magnesite 
bricks are shipped. The property was owned by Americans before the 
war and much of the output went to American ports. 

The magnesite in these deposits is crystalline and occurs in dolomite, 
probably of Carboniferous age, from which it was derived by the infiltra- 
tion of magnesium carbonate solutions and the leaching out of soluble 
calcium carbonate. It is finely to coarsely crystalline, yellow or bluish- 
white, carries 3 to 4.5 per cent, iron oxide, less than 2 per cent, silica, 
and less than 3 per cent. lime. It calcines readily to the dead-burned 
state and makes satisfactory grain magnesite and brick for refractory 
purposes. 

Deposits of magnesite were worked for many years near Franken- 
stein, Silesia, Germany. 

In the Province of Santander, in northern Spain, coarse crystalline 
magnesite lying in Lower Cretaceous limestone and dolomite has been 
mined for a number of years. The production in 1915 was 1,400 tons. 

In Greece, magnesite is of the non-crystalline type and occurs associ- 
ated with serpentine in veins and masses. The most important deposits 
are on the Island of Euboea. The Euboean deposits are all close to the 
seashore, and under normal conditions cheap water transportation to the 
principal magnesite markets of the world is available. The production 
of Greek magnesite in 1914 was mainly in the hands of three companies: 
the Anglo-Greek Magnesite Co., 24 Finsbury Sq., London; the Societe 
Hellenique des Mines, Athens; and the Hellenic Magnesite Co., Athens. 
The distribution of the magnesite is controlled by the London company. 
The Anglo-Greek Magnesite Co. works mines at Galataki and Afration, 
in Euboea. At the Galataki mines the vein of ore exposed is known to 
be 1,300 feet long and 50 to 60 feet wide. The Societe Hellenique des 
Mines (now called The Financial Corporation of Greece, Ltd.,) con- 
trols the production of several mines at Mantoudi, Limni, Larimna, etc. 
The Hellenic Magnesite Co. obtains most of its ore from surface excava- 
tions. In 1912 the production of magnesite by several companies in 
Greece, (not including the Hellenic Magnesite Co.) was as follows: Raw 
magnesite, 87,338 tons; calcined magnesite, 30,645 tons; dead-burned 
magnesite, 3,201 tons. This is equivalent to about 150,000 tons of crude 
ore, and does not include the product of one of the three largest producers. 

The magnesite from Greece and that from California are practically 
identical in physical and chemical character, but prior to 1915 the 
California material could not compete with the Grecian in the New 
York market, because of the transcontinental freight rate being so high 
in comparison with the ocean freight on material brought as ballast. 



368 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Magnesite is found in large quantities in Macedonia, occurring as 
veins in serpentine. 

Magnesite deposits, formerly worked, occur in Italy in the Turin 
district, and on the Island of Elba. None of the deposits seems to be 
large. An analysis of magnesite from the Island of Elba shows over 8 
per cent, silica, a trace of iron, and from 1 to 3.5 per cent. lime. 

Magnesite occurs in Norway as small veins in serpentine, but, unlike 
other magnesite in serpentine, it is crystalline. It is remarkable in that 
it shows no lime, but it carries over 4 per cent, iron and 9 per cent, silica. 
It is calcined and made into brick. 

Deposits similar to those in Norway are found in Sweden, but on ac- 
count of their situation, which entails heavy operating and transportation 
expenses, it is doubtful if they will ever be able to compete with cheaper 
European magnesite. 

Magnesite has been mined in the Orenburg government, Russia. 
One mine yielded 26,320 metric tons in 1906. Magnesite occurs also on 
the north slope of the Caucasus Mountains. 

Africa. — Extensive deposits of magnesite occur in the Transvaal, as 
veins, that range up to 4 feet in thickness. The rock is used for making 
carbon dioxide and oxy chloride cement. Great deposits of magnesite are 
reported in Portuguese West Africa. The deposits are near, or associated 
with, boiling springs. 

Asia. — The most important occurrence of magnesite in India seems 
to be in the Madras presidency, in the southern part of the peninsula of 
Hindustan, where the mineral occurs in interlacing veins. The main 
deposits have produced more than 2,000 tons in a single year. 

Crystalline magnesite occurs in limestone in the Manchuria mountains, 
and is mined at Daisetsukyo for refractory purposes. 

Magnesite is reported in Asiatic Turkey about 75 kilometers from 
Smyrna. 

Australia. — The deposits of magnesite in Queensland are so small that 
they probably have no commercial value. Rounded blocks of pure 
white magnesite outcrop in one locality in New South Wales, where many 
thousands of tons are available at small cost. An analysis shows 99.01 
per cent, magnesium carbonate and no lime. Large deposits of magnesite 
are reported in South Australia. Extensive deposits also occur on the 
north end of the west coast of New Caledonia. A small quantity has been 
exported. 

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

The magnesite deposits that play a notable part in the world's econ- 
omy are situated in Canada, United States, Austria-Hungary, and Greece. 

United States. — The principal magnesite deposits in the State of 
Washington are owned by the Northwest Magnesite Co., Spokane, 



MAGNESITE 369 

Wash.; Valley Magnesite Co., Spokane, Wash.; and American Mineral 
Production Co., Chicago, 111. The Northwest Magnesite Co. is the 
largest producer in the Washington field and probably has made the 
largest investment. The American Mineral Production Co. has a plant 
at Valley, Wash.; the Valley Magnesite Co. has a deposit near Valley, 
but is not operating it. 

The principal producers of magnesite in California in the summer of 
1918 were the Tulare Mining Co., with a mine near Porterville; 
Porterville Magnesite Co. of California, with mine at Porterville; 
Western Magnesite Development Co., with a mine at Red Mountain; 
and Frank R. Sweasy, working the White Rock mine, Pope Valley, 
Napa County. 

Austria. — The Veitscher Magnesite Co., of Vienna, and the Magnesite 
Co., Ltd., of Budapest, formed a combination or cartel, with the under- 
standing or agreement that all the sales of magnesite outside of Austria 
and Hungary had to be made through Carl Spater & Co., a German firm 
in Coblenz, Germany. The firm of Carl Spater & Co. formerly owned the 
works of the Veitscher Magnesite Co., but sold out and obtained the 
perpetual selling agency when the stock company was formed. The 
Harbison-Walker Refractories Co., Pittsburgh, Penn., is said to have 
been the American representative of Spater & Co. 

The Austro- American Magnesite Co., whose deposit and works at 
Radenthein, Austria, represent an investment of $1,800,000, is owned 
by Americans. The entire stock is absolutely controlled by the principal 
stockholders of the American Refractories Co., or was so controlled be- 
fore the war. The Austro- American Magnesite Co., it is claimed, was 
doing virtually 95 per cent, of the magnesite business in England before 
the war, and about 65 to 70 per cent, of the business in the United States. 
This company has a capacity of 150,000 tons of calcined magnesite a 
year. 

When it was found that Carl Spater & Co., who handle both magnesite 
and magnesite brick made by the Veitscher Magnesite Co. and the 
Magnesite Co., Ltd., would not sell magnesite to the English refractory 
brick makers, the Austro-American Magnesite Co. formed a selling com- 
pany in England, called the Anglo-Austrian Magnesite Co., of Sheffield, 
England. The English company sold magnesite from the Austro-Amer- 
ican Magnesite Co. works at Radenthein, Austria, to all the refractory 
brick manufacturers of England, and virtually took all the English trade 
from the Germans. 

The General Magnesite Co., of Budapest, has a magnesite deposit 
and plant at Hizonvich (Hisnyoviz?), Hungary. The stock of this 
company is believed to be owned principally by stockholders of the Gen- 
eral Refractories Co., Ill Broadway, New York. The balance of the 
stock, believed to be about 40 per cent., is owned by some Hungarians 

24 



370 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

of Budapest, represented by Mr. Gunst, of Budapest, president of the 
company. 

According to the United States Department of Commerce, 1 there 
are seven companies exploiting magnesite in Greece: The Anglo-Greek 
Magnesite Co., Ltd., with head offices in London, England; the Societe 
Financiere de Grece, Solon and Lycabettus Streets, Athens; The Inter- 
nationale Magnesite Werken, with head offices in Rotterdam, Nether- 
lands; L. Carambelas, Limni, Euboea; N. Papantonatos, Limni, Euboea; 
G. A. Georgidades, Athens, (exploiting a concession on behalf of the 
General Magnesite & Magnesia Co., of Philadelphia); and Alexiou, 
Daphnopotamos, Euboea. Most of the producers in 1917 had an 
abundance of orders for magnesite to be used in the steel industry in 
France and England. 

SUMMARY 

The principal and most essential use of magnesite is in metallurgy, 
as a refractory material for lining furnaces. Magnesite is also used in the 
manufacture of Sorel cement and of paper from wood-pulp, in fire-resist- 
ing paints, as a non-conductor of heat in pipe and furnace coverings, and 
in the manufacture of magnesium chloride, light carbonate and other 
products, including metallic magnesium. 

Magnesite occurs in two forms, amorphous and crystalline, and the 
deposits originate in three ways: by the decomposition of serpentine, 
as sedimentary deposits, and by the replacement of calcareous sedi- 
mentary rocks by magnesium-bearing solutions. In advance of develop- 
ment work it is impossible to make reliable estimates of available tonnage 
of the first type, but fairly accurate estimates can be made of deposits 
of the second and third types. 

Developed magnesite deposits that have been productive at one time 
are situated in California and Washington; in Quebec and British Colum- 
bia, Canada; on Santa Margarita Island, Lower California; on the Island 
of Margarita, Venezuela; in Austria-Hungary, Germany, Spain, Greece, 
Macedonia, Russia, Norway, Transvaal, and India. Other deposits, 
some of which have produced small amounts, are situated in Nevada, 
Ontario, New Brunswick, on Cedros Island, Lower California; in Asia 
Minor, Sweden, Rhodesia, Portuguese West Africa, Australia, Tasmania, 
and New Caledonia. There is no reason to believe that there will be 
in the near future any marked shift in the important sources of supply. 
In 1916 and 1917 the production from the deposits of the Pacific Coast 
of the United States increased very rapidly, but since January, 1918, 
there has been a severe slump in California production. 

The magnesite deposits of California and Washington are owned by a 
number of companies, all of them American. American refractory manu- 

1 Commerce Reports, May 1, 1917. 



MAGNESITE 371 

facturers are believed to be interested in some of the Canadian deposits. 
The deposits on Santa Margarita and Cedros islands, Lower California, 
seem to be owned or operated for the most part by residents of Cali- 
fornia. The deposits off the coast of Venezuela are held by a Philadel- 
phia company. Two of the large magnesite companies of Austria-Hun- 
gary have agreed to make all of their sales outside of Austria-Hungary 
through a German firm in Coblenz. Two other companies, the Austro- 
American Magnesite Co. and the General Magnesite Co., are owned 
mainly by Americans. The magnesite deposits of Greece are controlled 
by seven companies, one of them being English, one American, one Dutch, 
and the remainder seemingly Greek. The other magnesite deposits of the 
world are of little importance at present. 



CHAPTER XXII 
GRAPHITE 

By H. G. Ferguson, Frank F. Grout, and George D. Dub 

USES OF GRAPHITE 

Graphite is produced in several grades which are adapted to different 
purposes. Amorphous graphite is a trade term applied to non-crystalline 
or very fine-grained graphite of varying degrees of purity. If crystalline 
graphite is produced in flakes or scales, it is flake graphite; but if mined 
from veins it may have other forms, and be known as vein graphite- 
Lump, chip, and dust refer to products of larger crystals of Ceylon vein 
graphite more or less broken in mining and treatment. All those three 
are spoken of as crystalline. Artificial graphite, made from coal or 
other carbonaceous matter, resembles the amorphous variety. 

Graphite for crucible use must be high grade, either lump, chip, or 
flake graphite, contain at least 85 per cent, graphitic carbon and be free 
from fluxing impurities. Vein graphite is considered especially desirable 
for this use. Possibly the increased development of the electric furnace 
in the steel industry and in non-ferrous metallurgy will reduce the de- 
mand for crucibles. Both crystalline and amorphous graphite are used 
as lubricants. For this purpose the graphite should be free from quartz 
or other gritty impurities. For foundry facings, amorphous graphite 
and Ceylon dust are chiefly used; high-grade material is not required. For 
the better grades of pencils, mixtures of crystalline and high-grade amor- 
phous are needed; for the poorer grades, amorphous is used alone. The 
graphite used as polish for high explosives is amorphous. This use does 
not consume large amounts. For the manufacture of electrodes, artifi- 
cial graphite is considered the most suitable. The graphite used as dry 
battery filler may be either amorphous, artificial or crystalline. Pure 
material is required, but the size of grain is not a factor. 

Amorphous graphite is used in boiler compounds for preventing hard 
scale; pure material is not essential. For paints, either amorphous or 
crystalline graphite may be used and need not be high grade. 

For stove polish and shoe polish amorphous graphite is chiefly used; 
imperial graphite is used as an adulterant in fertilizers, to give the desired 
dark color. 

For amorphous graphite and dust, artificial graphite may be sub- 
stituted. For crystalline graphite used in the manufacture of crucibles 

372 



GRAPHITE 373 

no good substitute is available. However, the use of electric furnaces 
or open-flame furnaces in non-ferrous metallurgy may reduce the need 
of crucibles. For lubricating, mica is used in somewhat the same way 
as graphite but is much inferior. Many other boiler compounds serve 
the same purpose as graphite. In paints, lampblack is a substitute. 
Talc is used in connection with and as a partial substitute for graphite 
in foundry work. Blast furnace graphite, or "kish," offers possibilities 
as a substitute for flake graphite for lubricating purposes. Develop- 
ments along this line, however, have not proceeded far enough to be 
conclusive. 

GEOLOGICAL OCCURRENCE 

Amorphous graphite may occur wherever coal or other carbonaceous 
beds have undergone regional or igneous metamorphism. Crystalline 
graphite has two principal geologic occurrences, as flakes in schists and as 
larger crystals in veins. Flake graphite in schists is usually associated 
with granitic intrusions which appear to have aided recrystallization of 
original carbonaceous material in the sediments. Vein graphite in 
commercial quantities is rather rare. It is found associated with granitic 
intrusives and generally with graphitic sediments containing the flake 
variety. Such rocks in most parts of the world have not been prospected 
enough to make sure that all important bodies of graphite are discovered. 

WORLD CAPACITY FOR GRAPHITE PRODUCTION 

In the order of their importance the following table lists the various 
countries which produce graphite or in which graphite deposits have been 
reported : 

1. Crystalline Graphite 

A. Vein Graphite 

Ceylon — could produce up to 35,000 short tons per year, all grades. 
United States — small production from Montana. 
Canada — small amount recently produced. 

B. Flake Graphite 

Madagascar — could produce up to nearly 50,000 short tons per year. 
Bavaria — has averaged 12,000 tons for several pre-war years, and greatly in- 
creased production during the war. Produced 40,000 metric tons in 1917. 
United States — could readily produce 4,000 tons of flake exclusive of dust. 
Canada — could probably produce 1,200 tons of flake exclusive of dust. 
Spain — deposits being developed. 
Norway — new development reported. 
Roumania — important deposits recently reported. 
Japan — has not produced very much. 
Sweden — very small production. 
Transvaal — very small production, locally consumed. 



374 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Greenland 



large deposits reported. Very little development. 
Brazil 

German East Africa (former) — deposits of supposed large extent reported 

2. Amorphous Graphite 

German Austria 



-has long produced large amount of graphite annually. 

Chosen — could probably produce 12,000 tons per annum.' 

Italy — could probably produce 12,000 tons per annum. 

Mexico — could probably produce 6,000 tons per annum. 

United States — could readily produce 6, 000 tons natural and 6,000 tons artificial 

amorphous graphite. 
Spain — could probably produce 1,000 tons annually. 
France — could probably produce 1,000 tons annually. 
Siberia— large amount available but undeveloped. 
Rhodesia — local supply. 
Brazil — supply undeveloped. 
Queensland — supply undeveloped. 

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS 

Although no definite data are available, it is believed that Ceylon can 
not produce much longer at the present rate, and it is possible that the 
virtual exhaustion of the deposits is not far distant. Madagascar is 
capable of greatly increased production. It is doubtful if American de- 
posits with less than 5 per cent, graphite will be able to meet free com- 
petition from Madagascar, where over 20 per cent, of the rock as mined 
is graphite. Too little is known of the Greenland and Brazilian deposits 
to hazard a guess as to their future importance, but it is reported *that 
immense reserves exist in Greenland. The German flake deposits will 
hardly survive free competition from Madagascar, unless modern methods 
are introduced. Amorphous graphite will probably be chiefly produced, 
as at present, by Austria, Bohemia, Mexico and Chosen. Mexico and 
Chosen are likely to supply most of the pencil graphite of the world. 
Increased production of artificial graphite may reduce the demand for 
amorphous graphite. In 1918, notices in the German technical press 
told of the discovery of immense deposits of flake graphite in Roumania. 
These were to be worked jointly by the German and Austrian govern- 
ments under a 75 year lease from the Roumanian government. The out- 
come of the war of course annulled this arrangement. 

Vein graphite (that is, Ceylon graphite) is preferred for crucible 
manufacture, but increasing amounts of flake are being used successfully. 
European manufacturers seem to use flake almost exclusively; and 
American manufacturers will no doubt find it possible, if necessary. In- 
creasing amounts of amorphous graphite are being employed for various 
industrial uses, chiefly foundry facings. The development of the electric 
steel furnace, by reducing the use of crucibles, may tend in some degree 
to reduce the difference in value between crystalline and amorphous 
graphite. 



GRAPHITE 375 

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

Amorphous graphite is so widely distributed that no serious difficulty 
is likely to be encountered by any of the great commercial nations in 
filling their vital needs. Mexican graphite is the chief supply of good 
material for pencils. Interest centers in the material capable of being 
made into crucibles. 

Crucible graphite has been produced in the past mostly in Ceylon. 
Its granular form (characteristic of vein graphite) has been assumed 
by crucible makers to be the best. The deposits are worked mostly by 
small local owners in Ceylon, and the output is controlled by the British 
through state sovereignty and shipping. Control by ownership and 
operation with modern plant was attempted by an English company, 
but met native opposition until a few years ago. 

Recently Madagascar flake graphite has largely replaced Ceylon 
material in European practice. This deposit is under French sovereigDty 
and the French exercise a large degree of commercial control. The flake 
graphite of the United States has not yet reached a high development- 
There are large reserves of schist with about 5 per cent, graphite. Bava- 
rian material is crystalline though not of such good quality. It is under 
German control. Prior to the war, mining and milling methods were 
primitive, and the product correspondingly poor. Canada, Norway, 
Sweden, Greenland, Brazil and possibly others have reserves of flake 
within their boundaries. Japan has a small production of flake graphite 
and controls a supply in Chosen. 

American control of Mexican mines brings the entire Mexican output 
to this country for refining and re-export. One of the large Canadian 
mines is also owned in the United States. 

When the British supply in Ceylon declined and the Madagascar 
production increased, the British, who had always controlled the world's 
main supply, did not readily relinquish control. They bought a large 
part of the Madagascar product and have a concentrating plant on the 
island. The Morgan Crucible Co., of London, operates on the island as 
the French company "Graphites Maskar," but this is a subsidiary of 
the London company and the control is entirely British. This is not the 
only plant, however, working on the island. One large company before 
the war had its main office in Hamburg, Germany, one at Antwerp, and 
there were several French companies. Some Austrian mines were owned 
by Belgian companies prior to the war, and English interests own a part 
of the Italian deposits. 

During the war the French and British, having adopted the Mada- 
gascar graphite successfully, apparently arranged an agreement by which 
that supply should be used in Europe, while Ceylon graphite was sent 
mostly to the United States. The control was only possible by a com- 



376 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

bination of British and French, apparently a commercial rather than a 
political matter, though subject to government control. 

There appears to be a combination among Madagascar graphite 
producers, as evidenced by a statement from the consul in Tananarive 
in November, 1918, that the " Union des Producteurs de Graphite" 
could furnish to this country annually 15,000-20,000 tons of 85 per cent, 
graphite at a definite price, f.o.b. Tamatave. The object of the com- 
bine appears to be to protect producers against unfair practices of the 
manufacturer. 

The Colombo Graphite Union is mentioned in some sources as a 
local combination, probably interrelated with the Ceylon Chamber of 
Commerce. It has not been active in improving mining and milling 
methods, and has also objected to modernization by outside capital. 

The Graphite Producers' Association of Alabama was organized in 
1917 and had for its objects the furthering of the interests of the graphite 
miners of the state. An effort was made to sample and analyze shipments 
honestly and thus help remove the most serious objections that manu- 
facturers had against using domestic flake — unreliability of product. 

POSITION OF THE NATIONS 

Low-grade amorphous graphite is abundant in the United States. 
There are supplies in many states and in Alaska, which have not been 
developed to any extent. An excellent grade of material from Mexico 
is available in large amounts, making extensive domestic development 
unprofitable, except when the deposits are very favorably situated. 
The most productive Mexican deposit is owned by the United States 
Graphite Co., of Saginaw, Mich. Artificial graphite is made at Niagara 
Falls in large amounts, making the country independent in the matter 
of electrodes. 

This country is not yet independent in the matter of crucible graphite. 
Crucible makers have insisted on having Ceylon graphite, about 15,000 
tons or more a year. The only supply of similar graphite in the country 
is a very small deposit in Montana. However, there is a fair supply of 
flake graphite in Alabama, Pennsylvania, New York, Alaska, Texas and 
possibly other states. Some 3,500 tons a year were produced prior to 
1919. This resembles Madagascar rather than Ceylon graphite, though 
the flakes are smaller. American crucible makers are slow to make use 
of it, though there is evidence that it might serve very well. If the 
demand for crucible graphite continues, the demand for imports will 
probably continue. 

Our deposits are not so high grade or so favorably situated as to com- 
pete successfully with those of Ceylon and Madagascar. 

Canadian companies producing flake similar to that in the United 
States are in part owned by United States capital. 



GRAPHITE 377 

The flake graphite supply for crucible makers in normal times may 
come from Madagascar, but we can be fairly independent in case of 
necessity if we are prepared to stimulate mining in this country. 

England controls the graphite from Ceylon. However, there seems 
to be a general opinion that Ceylon production is likely to decrease 
unless the control passes into the hands of some one who will introduce 
modern efficient mining methods. England normally allows about two- 
thirds of the Ceylon product to come to the United States. England's 
own supply of crucible graphite is now mainly obtained from Madagascar, 
where an English owned and controlled company operates on the island. 
Amorphous graphite is obtained from Italy and Chosen. A London 
company operates in Quebec, producing some flake and dust. English 
capital is invested in Italian graphite deposits and apparently also in 
the Spanish. 

Through her sovereignty over Madagascar, France probably controls 
the world's best future supplies of flake graphite. The deposits are large, 
conveniently situated, and remarkably rich — 20 per cent, or more graph- 
ite. They are capable of greatly increased production. Already the 
output exceeds that of any other country, though the deposits have been 
developed but recently. France has a small local production of amor- 
phous graphite, and obtains some from Italy. 

Germany is now chiefly dependent on Bavarian flake graphite for 
crucibles. The efforts made during the war to get Ceylon graphite in 
through Holland and Switzerland indicate that the Bavarian supply is 
not wholly satisfactory. Amorphous graphite is supplied from Austria. 
Overproduction has made it possible at times to sell the products in 
America below cost. 

Japan produces some flake graphite. Chosen has an abundant supply 
of the amorphous variety. In Chosen there have been recent discoveries 
of crystalline graphite which may be of importance . 

Figure 11 shows the changes in the annual output of graphite in the 
chief producing countries, and Figure 12 shows the percentage of crucible 
graphites produced by the main sources of supply. 

SUMMARY 

Graphite occurs in nature in two forms, crystalline and amorphous, 
each form having its own peculiar uses. Crystalline graphite is used in 
the manufacture of crucibles, as a lubricant, and in paints. Amorphous 
graphite is used as a lubricant, for foundry facings, in pencils, in paints, 
as a polish for high explosives, in boiler compounds, in electrodes, in dry 
batteries, as a stove and shoe polish, and as a filler for fertilizers. Most 
of the above uses are essential and cannot easily be eliminated. Artificial 
graphite made from coal or other carbonaceous matter can be substi- 
tuted for^the natural amorphous graphite. 



378 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



50,000 



40,000 




30,000 =-=^^ 



10,0.00 



10,000 



Fig. 11. — Annual output of graphite in chief producing countries, 1902-18. Full lines 
indicate crystalline graphite; dotted lines principally amorphous graphite. 




Fig. 12. — Percentage of crucible graphite produced by main sources of supply, 1907- 
1917. Bavarian data since 1913 doubtful, but since completion of the graph it has 
been found that the 1917 production was much larger than shown. 



GRAPHITE 379 

Amorphous graphite may occur wherever coal or other carbonaceous 
beds have undergone regional or igneous metamorphism. Crystalline 
graphite, both flake and vein, is usually found in association with granitic 
intrusives. Since such rocks have not been thoroughly prospected in all 
parts of the world, it is probable that important new deposits of graphite 
will be discovered, especially in Canada, Siberia and parts of South 
America and Africa. 

Ceylon is the chief source of supply of the best grades of crystalline 
graphite, viz., vein graphite. The crystalline graphite obtained in Mad- 
agascar, Bavaria, and in small quantities in the United States, Canada, 
Norway, Sweden, Japan and Chosen is chiefly of the flake variety and 
for that reason it is considered by manufacturers inferior in grade to that 
obtained in Ceylon. Large undeveloped deposits are reported in Green- 
land and Brazil. The discovery of the large deposits of flake graphite in 
Roumania was reported some time since. From time to time discoveries 
are reported from other localities but the importance is questionable, 
chiefly because the deposits are usually situated in places difficult to reach. 
It is believed that the Ceylon deposits have passed the maximum of their 
production and if deposits of vein graphite of equal grade and richness 
could be found, Ceylon producers might be hard pressed. During the 
last few years Madagascar has become the leading producer of crystal- 
line graphite, and the influence of this potential supply should exert a 
stabilizing effect on prices of Ceylon graphite. 

Austria, Chosen, Mexico, Italy and the United States are the principal 
producers of amorphous graphite; Chosen and Mexico supply most of the 
pencil graphite of the world. 

The development of the electric furnace will no doubt decrease the 
demand for crucibles in steel making. 

Great Britain, through sovereignty over Ceylon and Canada, and 
France, through sovereignty over Madagascar, control politically the 
world's most important deposits of crystalline graphite. Japan con- 
trols the deposits of Chosen. 

American capital controls the deposits of the United States, the 
deposits of Mexico, and in part the deposits of Canada. The Ceylon 
deposits have been worked mainly by small local owners, who opposed 
until a few years ago the attempts of an English company to gain con- 
trol through the erection and operation of a modern plant. The Gra- 
phites Maskar, owning a part of the Madagascar deposits, is a subsidiary 
of a British company, the Morgan Crucible Co. Another large Mada- 
gascar company before the war had its main office in Hamburg, Germany. 
Other companies are controlled by Belgian and French capital. British 
interests own a part of the Italian and probably a part of the Spanish 
deposits. 



CHAPTER XXIII 
MICA 

By Durand A. Hall 
USES OF MICA 

Two varieties of mica are of particular economic importance : musco- 
vite or white mica, and phlogopite or amber mica. Three other varieties , 
lepidolite, zinnwaldite and biotite, .find occasional commercial use. 

Mica is marketed as sheet or block mica, mica splittings, thin sheets 
split chiefly from smaller sizes of block mica, and scrap or ground mica. 
The uses to which sheet or block mica may be put depend upon the size, 
thickness and shape of the piece which can be cut from it and the quality 
of the material itself. Factors entering into the quality of mica are: 
presence or absence of stains, spots, inclusions, cracks or pin holes; flexi- 
bility and elasticity; hardness; degree of distortion of the sheets; trans- 
parency; and dielectric strength. 

An essential use of sheet or block muscovite is in electrical work; 
from the mica are made condensers for radio equipment, magnetos and 
certain telephone equipment; also to a less extent for resonators in 
sounding boxes. This mica is also used in making spark plugs, particu- 
larly plugs in high-compression engines, for winding cores and as washers 
in place of porcelain. These uses were widely extended by the war to 
meet requirements for motor transport, airplanes and radio equipment. 

A great deal of this variety of mica is used for other insulating pur- 
poses. There are a vast variety of uses, such as for sheets, washers and 
disks in dynamos, electric-light sockets, guards in rheostats, fuse boxes, 
telephones, etc. 

Sheet or block phlogopite is used for general electrical insulation 
— particularly where mica softer than muscovite is required. 

Mica splittings of both muscovite and phlogopite are employed for 
the manufacture of "built-up mica," which is used widely for electric 
insulation in many different forms, such as sheets, tubes, cups, etc. 
Mica board built up from phlogopite splittings is used extensively for 
insulation between the copper segments of commutators. 

Among the less essential uses of sheet or block mica (mainly muscovite) 
are in windows for stove fronts and ovens; chimneys and shades for 
lamps and lanterns; and for many other purposes where a transparent 
non-inflammable, non-shattering material is required. It is also used 
for heat insulation, in various electric heating devices. 

380 



MICA 381 

Ground mica is also used for heat insulation, as in pipe and boiler 
covering, etc. ; and as a patent roofing, both as a coating to prevent stick- 
ing when rolled, and as a filler in the roofing itself. It is also used in an- 
nealing steel, and as a lubricant for wooden bearings. 

Among the non-essential uses of mica, those for which a satisfactory 
substitute is known, are the uses of sheet or block mica for phonograph 
diaphragms, and for decorative purposes, chiefly in India. On a similar 
basis are the uses of ground mica (mixed with oil) as a lubricant for metal 
bearings; as a filler for rubber goods, etc.; and for decorative purposes — 
in wall paper, decorative paints, ornamental stone, etc . 

Substitutes. — No other substance possesses the combination of 
elasticity, toughness, flexibility, transparency, ability to withstand ex- 
cessive heat and sudden changes in temperature, high dielectric strength, 
flatness and amenability to splitting into thin films, which belongs to 
mica. 

For the vast variety of electrical equipment in which mica is used, no 
satisfactory substitute has been found. In the manufacture of certain 
low-tension condensers sheets of oiled paper have been used instead of 
mica films, but attempts to substitute this material more widely have met 
with little success. According to one report a compressed paper product 
called "Pertinax" was developed in Germany during the war which is 
claimed to be "most satisfactory " for all electrical purposes, even for the 
manufacture of high-tension condensers. The fact, however, that Ger- 
many was paying $75 a pound for mica from Norway, and continued to 
use mica in the manufacture of condensers for airplane magnetos, indi- 
cates that complete substitution was not possible. 

For a great many glazing purposes it is possible to substitute heat- 
withstanding or non-shattering varieties of glass. 

CHANGES IN PRACTICE 

From the nature of mica deposits there has been little encouragement 
for the application of any but rather crude and simple methods of mining. 
These methods proved sufficient as long as there remained new and easily 
accessible deposits. There is at present a tendency in India, Canada, 
and the United States to apply more scientific methods to exploration 
and extraction, where the exhaustion of the easily worked deposits is 
threatened. 

Sorting, cleaning, grading, trimming and cutting of mica for the 
market are all essentially hand processes, and from the nature of the 
product will continue to be. For this reason producing localities possess- 
ing abundant cheap labor have a distinct advantage over those where 
labor is high and scarce. In one important direction attempts have been 
made to apply a mechanical device to a process which has always re- 



382 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

quired hand labor. This is in the manufacture of mica splittings, widely 
used in the manufacture of built-up mica. These inventions have not 
yet been demonstrated as commercially successful on a broad scale. 

Mica is being used to an increasing extent for electrical purposes. 
The war created a large demand, particularly for the better grades of 
material for the manufacture of magnetos and radio condensers and spark 
plugs, and many of these uses will continue to require much mica. The 
use of mica for glazing purposes, however, particularly in the fronts of 
stoves, is diminishing. This is due to the decreasing manufacture of the 
type of stove in which mica is used. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

It has been estimated that mica constitutes about 4 per cent, of the 
igneous rocks of the world. Segregation into deposits of workable size 
containing mica of commercial size and quality is comparatively rare. 
Mica mines are worked for the small percentage of sheet or block mica 
they contain, the large amount of waste mica being utilized only where a 
ready market warrants the grinding. 

Individual deposits of both muscovite and phlogopite are charac- 
terized by their extreme irregularity, so that any prediction as to reserve 
is uncertain. This fact is responsible for the crude methods of mining 
which have for so long been almost universally employed. The output 
of a district as a whole is from many small mines rather than from any 
single large one. 

An important consideration in the geological distribution of mica from 
an economic standpoint is the degree of dynamic metamorphism to which 
the region has been subjected during or subsequent to the formation of 
the mica-bearing deposits. This is due to the fact that the value of sheet 
mica depends, among many other factors, upon the freedom from dis- 
tortion of the sheets. 

Muscovite mica in commercial quantities invariably occurs in dikes 
and lenses of pegmatite which are considered to represent segregations 
of certain portions of granitic intrusions. The principal associated 
minerals are quartz and feldspar, both of which are usually considerably 
in excess of the mica. The dikes or lenses of pegmatite may be within 
the granite itself or in other inclosing rocks that may seem unrelated 
to a parent intrusive. Schists or gneisses form the inclosing rock of 
the pegmatite in most commercial deposits. 

Phlogopite is much rarer than muscovite and occurs in deposits 
structurally similar to granitic pegmatites. The important associated 
minerals are pyroxene, apatite and calcite, although in certain deposits 
the mass is almost entirely of mica. The Canadian deposits, which are 
best known, consist of veins and pockets in pyroxenite dikes and the 



MICA 383 

inclosing rock is usually limestone, a significant fact as regards the origin 
of the deposits. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

India, Canada, and the United States produce about 98 per cent, of 
the sheet mica of the world. The output of India and of the United 
States is entirely muscovite, whereas the Canadian production is almost 
entirely phlogopite. Brazil and Argentina have become important pro- 
ducers in the last two years, and German East Africa was becoming of 
considerable importance immediately before the war. South Africa, 
Guatemala, Ceylon, Madagascar and Australia have produced small 
amounts of mica and may be considered as potential sources of supply. 

India produces about 65 per cent, of the sheet mica of the world, 
and is the most important source of high quality muscovite. The two 
principal producing regions are the Hazaribagh district, in the Province of 
Behar, and Orissa, in Bengal, and the Nellore district, Madras Presidency. 

The output of Canada is practically all phlogopite or amber mica, of 
which that country is the world's principal source. The important 
producing districts are north of the city of Ottawa, in the Province of 
Quebec, and in the central part of the Province of Ontario. The Lacey 
mine, in Ontario, has been the largest producer of amber mica in Canada 
for many years. 

The United States produces about 15 per cent, of the sheet mica 
muscovite of the world. In terms of value, about 70 per cent, of the 
American product comes from North Carolina, and 23 from New Hamp- 
shire. Other districts are insignificant: 3 per cent, comes from Virginia, 
1 from South Dakota, and 3 from Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, and Colorado 
taken together. 

The principal sources of mica in Brazil are the states of Bahia, Sao 
Paulo, Goyaz and Minas Geraes. The two last mentioned are partic- 
ularly important. The deposits are widely scattered over a large area. 

Production of mica in Argentina has been incidental until very recently 
and the development has been slight. Deposits are numerous but are of 
special importance in the provinces of Cordoba, San Luis and San Juan. 
As far as is known muscovite is the only mica produced. 

Considerable activity has been shown in mica mining in Guatemala 
and shipments have been made quite regularly to this country. The 
mica, however, is of inferior grade and has not found favor in American 
markets. 

The production of the former German East Africa is confined entirely 
to muscovite mica found in the districts of the Ulguru Mountains and 
neighboring ranges. Considerable quantities of high-grade material 
were exported to Germany before the war. The mica mines in German 
East Africa were worked during the war under the direction of the 



384 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

British Ministry of Munitions. The district is of importance as a 
future source of high-grade muscovite. 

The principal locality in South Africa is near Leydersdorp, in the 
Northern Transvaal. Both muscovite and amber mica are reported 
from this area. 

Small amounts of high-quality amber mica have been shipped from 
Ceylon to England. 

Deposits of excellent quality mica are known to exist in the McDonald 
range, in South Australia, from which small shipments have been made 
sporadically. This is the only district from which lepidolite or lithia 
mica has been noted in sheets of commercial size. 

In China, large deposits of muscovite mica are reported from the 
vicinity of Kiao-Chau bay and also from Shantung, but no commercial 
development has taken place, and it is believed that the deposits are 
worthless as a source of sheet mica. 

Prior to 1914 efforts to produce mica in Norway on a commercial 
scale met with no success and little is known of the deposits. The great 
need of mica in Germany during the war stimulated production in Nor- 
way, tremendous prices being paid for the material. 

CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE 
NEAR FUTURE 

The most important change in known geographic distribution of mica 
for the near future concerns the increased development of the South 
American fields. During the war Brazilian mica found considerable 
favor both in this country and Europe, and the better grades are consid- 
ered equal to the best India mica. Importations of mica from Brazil were 
of much importance in meeting the large demands of the United States for 
mica of high quality to fill government needs. Owing to the nature of 
mica deposits in general, it is not safe to make estimates concerning 
reserves. This is particularly true of Brazil, where the industry is 
young, and careful prospecting and development have not been carried 
far. From the large number of known deposits and the rapidity with 
which the industry responded to war demands, despite difficulties in 
transportation from the mines to the seaboard, it would appear that 
Brazilian mica will play an increasingly important part in the mica 
markets of the world, particularly of the United States. No matter how 
great the merit of the mines of a district may be, however, unless the 
mica is carefully prepared, graded as to size and quality, and shipments 
are standardized, it cannot expect to attain permanent favor among con- 
sumers in this country or in Europe. 

Less is known concerning the future possibilities of Argentina as a 
mica-producing country of importance. Many deposits are known and 
considerable shipments have been made to the United States and to 



MICA 385 

Europe. The material received here has not been equal to Indian or 
Brazilian mica. 

There is every reason to expect that India will retain its position as 
the most important mica-producing country. The great number of 
deposits offer almost every grade of muscovite required in the trade. The 
industry is well-established, and labor conditions are extremely favorable 
for the production of a commodity requiring such a large amount of 
hand labor before being ready for market. It is true, however, that 
the richest and most easily accessible deposits have been mined out, and 
scientific methods must be applied to mining if production is to retain 
its former place. 

It is doubtful whether the immediate future will see any important 
change in the position of the United States as a mica producer. Although 
the reserves of the country as a whole are probably large, the deposits 
are small and the percentage of high-quality mica is not great. Produc- 
tion of important amounts of medium-grade mica will continue. Labor 
conditions are not favorable to producing cheaply an article that has a 
large part of its value determined by preparation and careful grading. 

Scientific methods have been applied to the mining and preparation 
of a considerable part of the Canadian output. Reserves are large and 
Canada will undoubtedly retain for many years its position as the princi- 
pal source of amber mica. 

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

The British Empire, through state sovereignty, controls 75 per cent, 
of the present sheet-mica production of the world. In Brazil and Argen- 
tina, which have important potential resources of mica, and in the United 
States, political control is determined by state sovereignty. 

For the most part, the ownership of mines and concessions in India 
has been in the hands of natives. In the Hazaribagh district, F. F. Chris- 
ten & Co., an English firm, owns rights over large areas of land outside 
the government forest and has mined on a considerable scale. At the 
outbreak of the war, Germany, through commercial interests, had ob- 
tained a large measure of control over many Indian mines. S. 0. Fillion 
& Co., of New York, is the one American firm known to be working mines 
in India. 

The most important producing phlogopite mine in Canada, at Syden- 
ham, Ontario, is owned and operated by the General Electric Co., of 
Schenectady, New York. The same company owns several other prop- 
erties in the vicinity and has a large mica-manufacturing plant at Ottawa, 
Ontario. Other smaller interests are held chiefly in Canada. 

Davol & Co., of New York, is the only foreign firm known to be ac- 
tively working mica mines in Brazil at present. 

Mica mines in the United States are, as far as is known, all owned by 
Americans. 

25 



386 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

POSITION OF LEADING NATIONS 

The United States was before the war the world's largest consumer of 
mica of all kinds. The development of her electrical industry is depend- 
ent upon her supply of mica, a large part of which is imported from India 
and Canada. Production in this country has been considerable, but has 
not proved nearly adequate to supply the demands, particularly the 
demand for the higher grades of mica for use in magnetos, radio con- 
densers and spark plugs, and for mica splittings used in making built- 
up mica. 

The large demands and high prices created by the war did not in- 
crease domestic production enough to warrant the belief that this country 
can become independent as regards sheet mica under any but the most 
artificial conditions. The producer is protected by a 25 per cent, import 
duty on unmanufactured (rough or knife-trimmed) mica and a 30 per 
cent, duty on cut mica, splittings and other manufactured forms. Pro- 
duction in this country is largely in the hands of individuals and small 
companies, who are financially incapable of increasing output spasmodi- 
cally even under very favorable conditions. Moreover, many consumers 
have a decided prejudice in favor of imported mica. 

If the United States is to take a dominant position in the electrical 
industry of the world an adequate supply of mica must be assured. The 
most promising field for the development of such a supply is undoubtedly 
South America. This is particularly true because the important de- 
velopment of the electrical industry in England during the war places 
that country in the dominating position formerly occupied by Germany 
and Austria. This development will require a large part of the Indian 
mica formerly available for export trade. 

The British Empire possesses in India the most important source 
of muscovite mica in the world and in Canada the only important supply 
of amber mica. In spite of England's tremendous advantage with 
regard to raw material, Germany, through her important position in the 
electrical industry and the large measure of control acquired in the 
Indian mines, threatened to dominate the mica market of the world at 
the outbreak of the war. Since the outbreak of the war England has 
secured her position not only as the controlling center for raw mica but 
as the chief producing nation of electrical equipment. London is the 
distributing center of the world for Indian mica and London prices regu- 
late the market. During the war Indian mica was controlled by the 
British Ministry of Munitions, and allotments were made to the associated 
nations at fixed prices. 

In the development of the South American fields lies the best possibil- 
ity of the world lessening its dependence upon England for this most 
essential raw material. 

France is entirely dependent upon outside sources for her supply of 



MICA 387 

mica. Before the war her demands were not large and were filled by 
Indian mica. 

Although Germany before the war was entirely dependent on outside 
sources for mica, her leading position in the electrical industry enabled 
her to gain control of much of the Indian production. Every advantage 
was taken of this opportunity, and in 1914, according to the British Secre- 
tary of Munitions, the mica market of the world was at the point of being 
transferred from London to Hamburg. The deposits of German East 
Africa were being actively exploited and German commercial interests 
were being extended to South America. 

Although probably possessing very large stocks in 1914, Germany 
felt very acutely the shortage of mica during the war. High prices were 
paid to Norway for the output of that country, but this source is probably 
entirely incapable of meeting the normal demands of Germany. 

SUMMARY 

Sheet mica is essential to the manufacture of a vast variety of elec- 
trical equipment, and must, therefore, be classed as one of the important 
raw materials of the world. The magneto, such a vital factor in modern 
transport on land, air and sea, depends upon mica for its construction, 
and mica condensers are indispensable in modern radio equipment. 

India, Canada, and the United States are at present the most im- 
portant mica-producing countries. Deposits of future importance 
from which production has thus far not been great are known in German 
East Africa, Brazil, Argentina and the Transvaal; from several other 
parts of the world more sporadic production is reported. 

Unlike the development of many other raw materials the production 
of mica has not been universally undertaken on a large scale, nor have 
scientific methods been applied to its extraction. This has been largely 
due to the irregular nature of the deposits and their scattered position 
within a district, making considerable investment of capital in mining 
a particularly hazardous venture. Trading interests have, therefore, 
played an important part in controlling production and markets. 

The British Empire, having within its boundaries a large proportion 
of the important mica-producing districts, at present dominates the 
situation politically. British commercial control, threatened by Ger- 
many's leading position in the electrical industry and wide interests in 
Indian mines at the outbreak of war, is now firmly re-established, and 
Great Britain has taken the place in the electrical industry formerly 
held by Germany and Austria. 

The United States, the largest consumer of mica among the nations 
of the world, has relied upon imports to supply a considerable part 
of the consumption and will probably continue to do so in the future, 
although steady development of domestic sources of supply may be 
expected. Brazil offers the most promising foreign field for the develop- 
ment of an independent source of supply for American markets. 



CHAPTER XXIV 
ASBESTOS 

By Oliver Bowles 
USES OF ASBESTOS 

Asbestos is useful because of its incombustibility, insulating qualities, 
and fibrous structure. High-grade asbestos is spun or woven into ropes 
and fabrics, the fabrics being used for many purposes, such as safety 
curtains, mats, mattresses, upholstering, firemen's suits and gloves, Of 
late years much high-grade asbestos has been used for friction facings 
in brakes and for packings. Low-grade asbestos is used for a great many 
purposes, which may be classed in three groups — building, insulating, 
and miscellaneous. 

For building purposes asbestos is employed in many ways. A mix- 
ture of asbestos and cement is used to make fireproof shingles or slates. 
Asbestos is also used with Portland cement to make a protective surface 
on metal sheathing; asbestos paper is used for weather and sound proofing 
and also for fire-protection purposes. It is used widely for plaster, which 
not only is fireproof but also improves the acoustic properties of audito- 
riums, churches, etc. Asbestos is also used for floor tiling and in the 
manufacture of paints. Asbestos lumber and millboard are employed 
for many structural purposes. 

Asbestos cement, a mixture of asbestos fiber and clay, is much used 
as a covering for boilers and steam pipes to prevent heat radiation. 
Other coverings are made from a mixture of asbestos and magnesia. 
Varieties of asbestos having a low iron content are useful for electrical 
insulating purposes. 

Some of the many miscellaneous uses of asbestos are for fire brick, 
acid filters, lead-fume collectors, stove mats, cooking-utensil linings, etc. 

The most essential of the above uses are those in which the long-fiber 
asbestos is employed. For fireproof ropes and fabrics nothing can take 
its place. Its use in friction facings for brakes is essential in all motor 
vehicles. 

The uses for which low-grade asbestos is employed may be regarded 
as less essential and might be eliminated in case of necessity, though such 
elimination would no doubt involve many serious difficulties. Fire risk 
would thereby be increased and many boilers and heating plants would be 
rendered less efficient and more wasteful, though these difficulties could 
be overcome to some degree by the use of substitutes. 

388 



ASBESTOS 389 

Substitutes. — Slag wool or mineral wool is a fireproof material and a 
good non-conductor of heat and sound. It is also highly porous, and 
hence it is useful as an absorbent. It can, therefore, be used to some 
extent as a substitute for asbestos for heat insulation and fireproofing. 
However, as it is brittle and cannot be woven as readily as asbestos, it is 
not to be regarded as a satisfactory substitute for the higher grades. 
Talc may be employed in the manufacture of fireproof and corrosive- 
proof paints, and also as a lining for furnaces and fireplaces. Infusorial 
earth is used to some extent as a substitute for asbestos for insulating and 
fireproofing. But it is important to note that none of the substitutes 
mentioned above can replace the high-grade spinning fiber. 

CHANGES IN PRACTICE 

As has been indicated, there is a probability of the demand for 
asbestos increasing. The wide use of motor-transport equipment de- 
mands a large amount of high-grade fiber for brake linings, while the 
increasing use of steam equipment, and electrical equipment and appli- 
ances, demands more and more material, both for electrical and heat- 
insulating purposes. Although substitutes may be employed for the 
lower grades, no substitutes are known for the spinning grades of asbestos, 
which are now in strongest demand. Consequently there are no changes 
in practice that will reduce the demand for asbestos. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

Asbestos originates for the most part from rocks consisting largely 
of olivine, such as peridotites or dunites, or from rocks consisting largely 
of pyroxene. Hence it is only in altered rocks of this nature that asbestos 
of the common types is to be expected. Two distinct types of alteration 
are common : Alteration of the olivine or pyroxene to serpentine, with 
development of chrysotile in places ; and alteration of olivine or pyroxene 
to amphibole with development of anthophyllite (a variety of amphibole) 
and related forms. Both types of alteration are well represented in the 
great North American belt of asbestos-bearing peridotites that extends 
from central Alabama along the Piedmont Plateau to the Gaspe Penin- 
sula of Quebec, a distance of more than 1,600 miles. In the northern 
part of the belt, in Vermont and Quebec, the alteration has been to serpen- 
tine with chrysotile asbestos in places, while in the southern part the 
alteration has been largely to amphibolite with development of antho- 
phyllite asbestos and talc. 

Chrysotile asbestos (Quebec type), as represented in most deposits, is 
formed by serpentinization, with subsequent prismatic crystallization in 
cracks, the veins thus formed representing a recrystallization along the 



390 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

walls and thus being replacement veins rather than fissure veins. Contact 
metamorphism evidently plays an important part in the process, for in 
most regions intrusive dikes are associated with the deposits and evidently 
had a definite influence on the development of the commercial product. 
As serpentinization is a deep-seated process, chrysotile deposits may 
occur at considerable depth. 

Anthophyllite asbestos (Georgia type) results from alteration of 
peridotites or pyroxenites to amphibole, giving the fibrous anthophyl- 
lite and related forms. This type of asbestos does not occur in veins but 
constitutes the major part of the rock mass. 

While the modes of alteration noted above account for most of the 
asbestos deposits known, there are two important exceptions — the cro- 
cidolite, or blue asbestos, of South Africa, and the chrysotile deposits of 
Arizona, both of which occur in sedimentary rocks. Crocidolite is 
interbedded in jasper and ironstone, and the Arizona chrysotile has re- 
sulted from the alteration of cherty limestone influenced to some extent 
by the action of diabase intrusions. 

As pointed out in the discussion of uses, for various select purposes 
anthophyllite cannot be employed as a substitute for chrysotile of spin- 
ning grade. As the uses of anthophyllite are thus restricted, and as the 
supply seems to be ample for many years to come, the problem of supply 
centers about the deposits of high-grade chrysotile. 

Deposits of serpentinized basic rocks are by no means rare, and even 
the development of a fibrous structure is common, but in all chrysotile- 
bearing deposits only a small part of the serpentine is fibrous, and of the 
fibrous part only a small percentage can be utilized as high-grade asbes- 
tos. The value of deposits of most ores depends largely on the percent- 
age of metal and of impurities present, and little attention need be given 
to the physical character of an ore. The value of asbestos, however, 
depends not only on purity of composition, but on very definite physical 
properties, such as length of fiber, flexibility, and tensile strength. Such 
properties result from a combination of favorable conditions of crystalli- 
zation, conditions that are at present little understood. 

A large body of serpentinized basic rock bears, therefore, no certain 
promise of an asbestos supply, though it may offer encouragement for 
prospecting. High-grade fiber is evidently formed under a peculiar 
combination of geologic conditions which involve the presence of certain 
primary rock types, their alteration to secondary minerals and recrystal- 
lization of these in veins, such recrystallization being induced by a com- 
bination of metamorphic agencies. Although it is quite probable, 
therefore, that new fields will be discovered, there is no probability of an 
abundant supply. 

An important point to be considered in connection with future sup- 
plies is that for most uses of asbestos there is little or no scrap recovery; 



ASBESTOS 



391 



that which is once used is for the most part gone beyond recall. It is 
wise, therefore, to maintain a conservative view of the asbestos reserve, 
for although there is evidence of a supply in the Canadian deposits and 
elsewhere to last for many years, the probability is that deposits of high- 
grade material are neither numerous nor extensive. 

The total production and estimated reserves of spinning asbestos 
in the important producing countries are shown in Figure 13. 



1,300,000 
1,200,000 
1,100,000 
1,000,000 
900,000 
800,000 
5 700,000- 

o 600,000- 

x: 

"° 500,000 

400,000 

100,000 

200,000- 

100,000 

50,000 





CANADA 



UNITED STATES 






Estimated Reserve 
vyvA Total Production 



RUSS/A 



Wa 



CAPE COLONY 



RHODESIA ITALY 

CYPRUS 



H 



Fig. 13. — Total production and estimated reserves of spinning asbestos. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

United States. — Asbestos in the United States is of two types, chrys- 
otile and anthophyllite. The chrysotile variety occurs in Arizona, 
Vermont, Wyoming, and California, and the anthophyllite in Georgia, 
Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and 
Idaho. 

Chrysotile Asbestos. — The asbestos deposits of Arizona are unusual 
in being cross-fiber chrysotile veins in cherty limestone, and thus quite 
distinct in origin from the Quebec deposits. The asbestos-bearing beds 
are thin and some of them are almost inaccessible. 

Asbestos was first discovered in Arizona at two points in the Grand 
Canyon of the Colorado, west of the mouth of the Little Colorado River. 
The mineral occurs in a single bed, 12 to 14 inches thick, the veins being 
parallel with the bedding. In some places the veins are 4 inches thick, 
but usually they do not exceed 2}^ inches. The visible supply, therefore, 
is not great, and as the district is difficult of access production has been 
slight. Asbestos also occurs in Ash Creek Canyon near Globe. Pro- 
duction began in 1914, and has increased considerably since. The 



392 POLITICAL AND COMMERCAL GEOLOGY 

asbestos carries only 0.5 per cent, iron oxide, while Canadian asbestos 
runs 2.2 per cent, to 2.6 per cent, iron oxide. The Arizona material is, 
therefore, superior to Canadian asbestos for electrical insulation. It is 
estimated that under favorable conditions the region can supply 1,000 
tons annually for many years to come, but that the output will never be 
large as compared with that of Canada. In 1914 an asbestos deposit 
similar to those of Ash Creek was reported near Young postoffice. It is 
80 miles from the nearest railroad station and will probably be inaccess- 
ible for many years. Near the summit of Mount Baker, north of the 
Roosevelt Reservoir, a mine producing good chrysotile was opened in 
1917. The asbestos occurs in cross-fiber veins in limestone. 

The asbestos deposits of Vermont are situated at Lowell, in the same 
formation as the Quebec deposits. The asbestos occurs in numerous 
irregular veins, the supply is probably large, and some of it compares 
favorably with the Canadian product. There was a considerable pro- 
duction in former years, but after 1912 the quarries were idle. The 
reserves of low-grade rock are probably large. 

The main deposits of Wyoming occur south of Casper in igneous Arch- 
ean rocks. The mineral is chrysotile asbestos, mostly of the cross-fiber 
type, though some slip-fiber is present. It is claimed that the Wyoming 
asbestos has better heat-resisting qualities than the Canadian fiber. 
However, a very small proportion of the fiber is of spinning grade. 

Deposits of chrysotile asbestos have been noted in many parts of 
California, scattered over 13 counties. The deposits seem to be small, 
and thus far the production has not exceeded a few tons a year. A 
small production is recorded for 1917 from Nevada and Inyo counties. 
There was an increased output in 1918, the total being 229 tons. Some 
No. 1 spinning fiber was obtained in Nevada County. 

Anthophyllite Asbestos. — The anthophyllite asbestos deposits in 
Georgia yield the largest production of any state in the Union. The 
material is not of spinning grade and is practically all used for fireproofing 
and insulating. There is a considerable demand for such material, 
however, and the industry is established on a firm basis. A notable 
feature of the Georgia deposits is that approximately 95 per cent, of the 
rock quarried is fibrous anthophyllite of commercial quality, whereas in 
Quebec only about 6% per cent, of the material quarried can be utilized. 

Anthophyllite asbestos deposits occur in Virginia near Bedford. 
The material is low-grade and the amount is probably small. A little is 
consumed in the manufacture of " tenax, " a preparation used by dentists. 
Amphibole slip-fiber asbestos has lately been mined on a small scale in 
Maryland, near Pylesville. It is used for filters. Several years ago a 
small production was recorded from Dalton, Massachusetts, and New 
Hartford, Connecticut. 

Anthophyllite asbestos occurs in Idaho, near Kamiah, It is not of 



ASBESTOS 393 

spinning grade, is of low tensile strength, and is inferior to all but the 
lowest grades of chrysotile. The deposit is evidently large, but the pro- 
duction is almost negligible. 

Canada and Newfoundland. — The most important asbestos-produc- 
ing deposits of the world are those of the province of Quebec, Canada, 
chiefly in the region of Thetford and Broughton. Asbestos occurs in 
serpentine of Cambrian age, the area in which the important mines are 
found extending from southern Vermont to Gaspe, in the Province of 
Quebec. The serpentine lies in three prominent belts. The Danville- 
Eastman- Vermont serpentine belt is about 62 miles long. The scattered 
outcrops probably are connected beneath the heavy drift deposits and 
forest growth. Prospects have been worked in six places, but the pro- 
duction attained is small. The belt is an uncertain quantity, that gives 
fair promise of a large future supply. 

The Thetford-Black Lake area is the important area of Quebec and 
now the most productive asbestos district of the world. In 1917 there 
were 17 active mines in the district. In 1918 the quantity of rock mined 
was 2,445,745 tons, and the total asbestos production was 159,225 tons, 
valued at $9,053,945. The Broughton and the central and eastern Thet- 
ford areas are mainly slip-fiber asbestos. The West Thetford, South 
Ireland, and North Coleraine Township deposits constitute the vein- 
fiber belt which yields the high-grade spinning asbestos that has a world- 
wide reputation. 

Serpentine rocks bearing chrysotile asbestos are reported near Port 
au Port, in Newfoundland, probably representing a continuation of the 
Quebec belt. The possibility of commercial development is uncertain. 

Mexico, Central and South America. — Asbestos deposits have been 
reported in Brazil, but aside from this no commercial deposits have been 
noted in South America. 

There is no record of asbestos deposits in Mexico or in Central America. 

Europe.— The absestos deposits of Russia probably rank next to 
those of Canada. The principal mines are 57 miles north of Ekaterin- 
burg, in the Ural Mountains. The quarries can be worked only from May 
to November in each year. Transportation is over the Perm Railroad, 
and the output is exported via Riga. The fiber is of the same type as 
the Canadian, a chrysotile asbestos, chiefly of the cross-fiber type. The 
richest ore yields 42 to 55 pounds of asbestos per cubic yard. Production 
has also been reported by the South Urals Asbestos Co., operating in the 
Orsk district, in Orenburg. Russian asbestos is said to be harsher than 
Canadian and less suitable for spinning, but a great deal of high-grade 
fiber has been produced and Russia is likely to be an important future 
source of asbestos. 

The asbestos of Italy is of the anthophyllite variety. There are 
three main districts: the Susa Valley deposits, near the French border. 



394 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

which lie 6,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level and are, therefore, not readily 
available; the Aosta Valley deposits, of wide extent, with long-fibered, 
strong, and soapy product; and the deposits in Lombardy, also of great 
extent. Italian asbestos may be used to some extent as a substitute for 
Canadian fiber, or to mix with it, but the supply of high-grade fiber is not 
great, and it is more difficult and expensive to work than the Canadian 
material. The United Asbestos Co., of London, England, is the largest 
producer. 

Large deposits of asbestos are known on the island of Cyprus. The 
material is derived from serpentine and is of the amphibole anthophyllite 
type. Much of it is short-fibered but some of it can be used to mix 
with Canadian fiber. 

Good spinning asbestos has been noted in central Finland but produc- 
tion up to the present time is almost negligible. 

Asbestos deposits have been noted in England, Scotland, Ireland, 
France, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Greece, and Turkey, 
but all the above deposits are said to consist of coarse and brittle 
material of little commercial value. A large deposit of good asbestos 
is reported in the island of Corsica. 

Asia. — Deposits are known in various districts of India. Asbestos is 
also reported in Afghanistan. Indian asbestos is of inferior tensile 
strength, and the lack of development renders it an uncertain resource. 

The United States Geological Survey reported in 1912 that three 
asbestos mines were in operation 45 miles northeast of Antung, China. 
The product, which was shipped into Manchuria, is of the amphibole 
(anthophyllite) type and quite brittle. Chrysotile asbestos of good 
quality is reported south of Lake Baikal, in Mongolia. It has never been 
mined, and on account of its remoteness is not likely to be developed. 
Deposits yielding a small output are reported from several other 
provinces. 

Asbestos deposits occur in several localities in Japan. The output 
is of inferior quality and is mixed with imported material for asbestos 
packing. The Japan Asbestos Co., of Osaka, is the chief manufacturer 
of asbestos products. 

Deposits have been opened at Minusinck, on the Yenesei River, in 
Siberia, but production is reported for the year 1905 only. Transporta- 
tion is difficult. 

Africa. — The asbestos of Cape Colony is crocidolite, or blue asbestos ; 
it is of the amphibole type and will not bear high temperature, probably 
on account of its iron content, but is longer, stronger, finer, and more 
elastic than chrysotile. On account of its low fusibility it is useful in 
electric welding. The mineral occurs in three important districts and 
outcrops at numerous points from the Orange River north to Bechu- 
analand. Government engineers report it to be the largest asbestos- 



ASBESTOS 395 

bearing area in the world. The principal deposits are at Koejas, where 
the Cape Asbestos Co., Ltd., produced in 1916 about two-thirds of the 
total amount of asbestos mined in South Africa. Blue asbestos is gaining 
favor in foreign markets, and this fact, in connection with the great extent 
of the deposits, indicates that these deposits constitute an important 
factor in world supply. 

Large and probably extensive deposits of chrysotile asbestos of the 
finest quality occur in the Transvaal. Three companies have recently 
operated in this district. Production, which began about 1914, in which 
year 30 tons were reported, had increased to a total of 407 tons in 1916. 

A new and important development is the mining of a long-fibered 
amphibole asbestos known as "amosite." 

A small output of asbestos from Natal has been reported for several 
years; however, the fiber is not high grade and an increase of production 
is not likely. 

Important deposits occur in southern Rhodesia. The Southern 
Rhodesia Geological Survey reports that there is in sight several years' 
supply for an output of 200 tons per month without going deeper than 60 
feet. The "probable ore" supply is very great. It has been stated that 
the Rhodesian fiber is the only class of chrysotile asbestos that can com- 
pete successfully with the best grade of Canadian fiber. 

Australasia. — A chrysotile-bearing serpentine belt covers a consider- 
able area in Queensland. A deposit occurs near Rockwell, South Australia. 
The Australia Asbestos Manufacturing Co. has produced a small amount 
of material similar to Italian asbestos. A small amount of chrysotile 
has also been found. A deposit of chrysotile prospected in New South 
Wales is claimed to have the longest asbestos fiber in the world. No 
production has been reported. In the Pilbarra district, West Australia, 
there is chrysotile asbestos of spinning grade which is said to be superior 
to either the Russian or Italian product. Some years ago a mine was 
worked to considerable depth by the Pilbarra Asbestos Co., of London, 
England, but in recent years the production has been almost negligible. 
In New Zealand chrysotile asbestos of spinning grade occurs in Nelson 
Province. The Australasian Asbestos Co., of Sydney, has recently pros- 
pected the serpentine belt of Tasmania, which contains both chrysotile 
and anthophyllite asbestos. 

DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN DISTRIBUTION OF MINES 

The United States leads all nations in the manufacture of asbestos 
products, and the large supply of asbestos in Quebec is readily available. 
There is, therefore, little prospect of any radical change in the geograph- 
ical distribution of American asbestos mines. As there is always a possi- 
bility of such changes, however, it is well to consider the controlling 
factors. 



396 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

As to the future of the Quebec deposits, the present source of supply, 
little definite information is available. The fact that serpen tinization is a 
deep-seated process has led Canadian geologists to conclude that commer- 
cial fiber may be formed to the full depth of the original peridotite rock. 
For all practical purposes, however, the depth of the deposit is limited to 
the depth at which asbestos can be extracted profitably. One mine is 
now working at a depth of 300 feet and drill holes sunk 400 feet farther 
indicate a thickness of at least 700 feet of good fiber-bearing rock. Cirkel 
has stated that in one of the Black Lake quarries there is 44,377,500 
tons of asbestos rock in sight above the railway tracks, ready for imme- 
diate exploitation. A deduction of 50 per cent, for waste rock would 
leave 22,000,000 tons of mill rock available, or enough to supply for 22 
years a plant capable of producing 4,000 tons a day. As this includes 
only the visible ore it may be inferred that the reserve is very great. 
Cirkel estimates the total acreage of productive vein fiber as 12,420, 
of which 1,100 acres is under development at the present time. A 
geologist who spent two summers studying the geology of the region 
states that second-grade fiber is very abundant and that the high-grade 
deposits are not more than 25 per cent, exhausted. There is, therefore, 
no prospect for many years of any change in the geographical distribution 
of working mines through the exhaustion of present deposits. 

During 1916 and 1917 the production of high-grade fiber in the United 
States grew steadily, but is still far from meeting domestic demands, as 
the total United States output in 1917 was only one-eightieth of the 
amount imported. The most important development has been in the 
high-grade chrysotile districts of Arizona, but these new deposits do not 
give promise of an abundant supply, and it is unlikely that they will 
constitute a dominating factor in American production. 

Legislation may have a profound effect on the development of de- 
posits. A high export duty placed on raw asbestos by a country now 
producing it in large quantities would have the effect of encouraging pros- 
pecting in other countries and the development of deposits that might 
supply substitute material. In this connection it is interesting to note 
that the Board of Trade of the eastern townships of Quebec proposed 
measures to protect the export of raw asbestos, in order to force the manu- 
facture of asbestos products in Canada. The Canadian Mining In- 
stitute Bulletin (August, 1916) pointed out the dangers of such action, 
for other countries would immediately search for asbestos deposits else- 
where, and as good asbestos occurs in Russia, South Africa, Cyprus, and 
other localities, substitutes for Canadian material could probably be found. 
It is evident, therefore, that Canada does not control the supply, but 
that so long as Canadian fiber is available at reasonable prices there is no 
strong incentive for the development of new deposits. 

In the Old World the situation is less stable than in America. Euro- 



ASBESTOS 397 

pean countries import considerable material from Canada, and the balance 
of their requirements is filled from various sources, chiefly from Russia, 
Cyprus, Italy, South Africa, and Australia. High-grade asbestos 
deposits exist in various countries and are for the most part developed to 
a small extent. The factors determining changes in production are some- 
what different from those outlined for America. The lack of a strong 
central government greatly hampers production in any country. Thus 
under recent conditions in Russia the output fell from nearly 20,000 tons 
in 1913 to about 9,000 in 1916. Stabilized conditions and more efficient 
governments would tend to increase the output of several eastern coun- 
tries. The most important factor contributing to the slow development 
of the Old World deposits is poor transportation. Russian asbestos for 
the English market has to pay transportation costs of $25 to $30 per ton. 
The important crocidolite deposits of South Africa are likewise hampered 
by poor transportation. Not only are the roads poor, but the most 
important deposits of Koegas are 18 miles from a traveled road, and 
other deposits are about 100 miles from roads. This drawback is 
offset to some extent by cheap labor. 

The present political upheaval in Europe, involving the formation of 
new states and new forms of government, may have a pronounced effect 
on the development of asbestos deposits, but until progressive govern- 
ments are established and vast improvements made in transportation, no 
great increase in production is possible. 

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

A large share of the asbestos deposits of the world, being situated in 
British colonial possessions, are under the political control of Great 
Britain. The deposits of Cyprus are at present under British political 
control, but this may not be permanent. Before the war, Cyprus was 
nominally Turkish, though administered by Great Britain; in 1914, 
Great Britain formally annexed the island. Cyprus was offered to Greece 
in return for her assistance in the war, but the offer was not accepted. 

From information available it is evident that the governments of 
Russia and Italy have in the past imposed no serious restrictions on the 
development of their asbestos properties through either domestic or 
foreign capital. 

Below is set forth the commercial control of the asbestos deposits of 
the world, by countries, in the following order: United States, Canada, 
Russia, South Africa, Italy, Cyprus, and Australia. 

In the Globe district of Arizona, in the United States, spinning asbestos 
is produced by the Johns-Man ville Co., working the Snell & Fisk property, 
and by the American Ores & Asbestos Co. The Sierra Asbestos Co., near 
Nevada City, California, produced spinning fiber in 1918. As far as 



398 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

is known all the companies operating in the United States are American 
owned. 

The asbestos mining industry in Canada is confined to the eastern 
townships of the Province of Quebec. The largest company is the 
Asbestos Corporation of Canada, Ltd., with head office in Montreal. 
This company operates the Kings and Beaver mines, at Thetford Mines, 
the British Canadian mine, at Black Lake, and the Frazer mine, at East 
Broughton. The company is controlled by English, Canadian, and 
United States capital. The Bell Asbestos Mines Co., the Asbestos & 
Asbestic Corporation, and the Manville Asbestos Co. are wholly or 
largely owned in the United States. The remaining companies are mostly 
controlled by English or Canadian capital, though United States interests 
are represented in some of them. Evidently, therefore, the ownership 
of the companies is divided between English, Canadian and United 
States capital, with British interests probably predominating. 

The most important of the Ekaterinburg mines in Russia are the 
Voznesensky and Zoe-Anonsky, near Bazhenof . About one-third of the 
total output of the Urals came from these mines in 1916. It is reported 
that prior to the war a German syndicate controlled several Russian 
mines which produced in all more than 80 per cent, of the entire Russian 
output. Germany and Austria were the chief buyers of Russian asbestos 
before the war. 

In South Africa the crocidolite of Cape Colony is mined largely by the 
Cape Asbestos Co., a British firm with mines at Koegas and Westerberg, 
and having factories in England, Turin, and Hamburg. A sister company 
in France, Compagnie Francaise de l'Amiante du Cap, handled in 1916 
about two-thirds of the total South African production and was the chief 
manufacturer of blue asbestos products. In the Transvaal, asbestos is 
mined by three companies, The Transvaal Asbestos Syndicate, now 
absorbed by the Consolidated Gold Fields; the South African Minerals 
Option Syndicate, a subsidiary of the Bechuanaland Exploration Co., 
and the Anglo-Swiss Asbestos Co. British capital predominates. The 
Rhodesia Asbestos Co., Ltd., was the chief Rhodesian producer until 
recently, but in 1917 the Rhodesia and General Asbestos Corporation was 
organized with a capital of £400,000 to take over the operating mines. 
The commercial control is, therefore, British. 

The chief producer in Italy is the United Asbestos Co., of London, 
England. 

Prior to the war the Cyprus deposits were worked by the Cyprian 
Mining Co., an Austrian corporation. As mining concessions are ob- 
tained from the British government by lease on a royalty basis, it is 
probable that the lease has now been cancelled. 

The deposits in Australasia are practically all controlled by English 
or Australian capital. 



ASBESTOS 399 

Mines that have no milling equipment can produce crude fiber which 
may be treated at manufacturing plants. The various grades of mill 
fiber may be produced only where mills are located at or near the mines. 
As the utilization of all grades can be accomplished only with the assist- 
ance of mills, such mills are necessary for efficient mining. Consequently, 
with other factors equal, mines with near-by mills have a distinct com- 
mercial advantage over mines that produce crude fiber only. Although 
mills are not essential factors in the asbestos-mining industry, they exert 
a secondary influence in commercial control through the increase in 
mining efficiency that they render possible. For deposits remote from 
centers of manufacture, mills are of little advantage, as fiber below spin- 
ning grade will not bear heavy transportation charges. Most of the 
United States and Canadian mines have mills for treatment of rock 
bearing short fiber. Several of the Russian mines are similarly equipped, 
but in other parts of the world little or no milling is done. 

A number of important manufacturers of asbestos products in the 
United States are owners of or have intimate trade agreements with large 
Canadian asbestos mines, and also with some of the domestic mines. 
Hence as regards commercial control the United States is practically 
assured of a supply of raw material. 

POSITION OF LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS 

Although the United States is the largest manufacturer of asbestos 
products in the world, in 1917 less than 1 per cent, of the raw material 
was mined in this country. The country is, therefore, largely dependent 
on foreign sources of supply. The abundant deposits of Quebec, Canada, 
are conveniently near, and so long as the present amicable relations with 
Canada continue, an ample supply seems to be assured. In 1916 the 
United States used 86 per cent, of the Canadian output. During 1916 
and 1917 there was marked activity in developing the high-grade chryso- 
tile deposits of Arizona. While there is as yet no evidence of an abundant 
supply, the material is an important supplementary source of supply 
because of its quality. 

While no commercial asbestos is mined in the British Isles, British 
colonial possessions hold control of about 88 per cent, of the annual 
asbestos output of the world and approximately 70 per cent, of the world's 
reserves. Thus, although the supply within the British Empire is ample, 
the home requirements of the nation can be met only under favorable 
shipping conditions, as all necessary material must be transported 
several thousand miles. 

Russia is the second largest producer of asbestos in the world, and 
seemingly has large reserves. As little manufacturing is done in the 
country, practically the entire output is exported. Being independent 



400 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

as regards her own needs for raw asbestos, Russia requires only the main- 
tenance of an active foreign market to assure a permanent industry. 

No commercial asbestos deposits are known to exist in Germany. 
Prior to the war asbestos was imported chiefly from Russia and Canada. 
The chief Russian mines are said to have been controlled by German 
capital. 

Italy has large deposits of amphibole (anthophyllite) asbestos, some 
of which is of spinning grade, but as production has always been small and 
has, except for minor fluctuations, been stationary for the past 18 years, 
it is unlikely that the deposits can supply domestic requirements of high- 
grade fiber. A small amount has been exported for filter use, for which 
Italian asbestos is well adapted. As the chief mine is operated by a 
British company, considerable Italian asbestos is shipped to England. 

No asbestos deposits are worked in France. Supplies are obtained 
from Russia, Canada, and South Africa. France is the leading nation 
in the manufacture of blue asbestos products. 

Several deposits of asbestos occur in Japan, but all are of inferior 
quality. The material mined is mixed with imported fiber for the 
manufacture of asbestos packing. 

SUMMARY 

Asbestos is a unique mineral for the reason that it combines in- 
combustibility and insulating qualities with a fibrous structure that makes 
possible its manufacture into fabrics, felts, and similar wares. The 
spinning grades of asbestos are most in demand and the problem of 
supply hinges largely on the deposits of high-grade chrysotile. Such 
material is used for the manufacture of ropes, safety curtains, mats, 
packings and friction facings in brakes. The lower grades are used for 
making fireproof shingles and other building materials, for insulating, 
and for fire brick, acid filters, etc. Although some substitutes may be 
found for the lower grades, no substitutes are known for spinning fiber. 

Asbestos occurs in three main types, chrysotile, crocidolite, and 
anthophyllite; the first and second provide most of the spinning fiber, 
and the third is almost all of non-spinning quality. The most important 
deposit of chrysotile asbestos is in Quebec, Canada, but large deposits 
are worked in Russia and Rhodesia. Crocidolite is mined only in Cape 
Colony, South Africa. Large deposits of anthophyllite occur in the 
United States, Italy, and Cyprus. 

The United States is by far the largest manufacturer of asbestos prod- 
ucts in the world, but produces only a small fraction of the necessary 
raw material; it is practically assured of an ample supply of this because 
the largest deposits in the world are in the adjacent Province of Quebec, 
Canada. The Arizona deposits provide an excellent grade of fiber and 
constitute a promising supplementary source of supply, though the 



ASBESTOS 401 

estimated reserves are not great. The British Empire holds a dominating 
position, controlling about 88 per cent, of the annual asbestos production 
of the world and approximately 70 per cent, of the estimated reserves. 
Canada is far in the lead of all countries, supplying about 85 per cent, of 
the world's output. Russia was, before the revolution, second to 
Canada as a producer; because of the cost of transportation the chief 
output is spinning fiber. South Africa has large reserves of good fiber, 
but the output is handicapped by poor transportation. 

Exhaustion of the chief sources of supply is not likely for many years, 
nor is there immediate prospect of any material shift in the centers of 
production, though with improved transportation a shift to South Africa 
is posssible. The demand for high-grade asbestos will probably increase 
at a steady rate. 

All the asbestos quarries in the United States seem to be American 
owned. The Canadian deposits are controlled by Canadian, English, 
and American capital, British interests probably being predominant. 
British companies evidently hold exclusive control of the present output 
in South Africa, Australasia, and Italy. Before the war the Russian 
output was largely controlled by a German syndicate, and the Cyprus 
output by an Austrian company. 



2G 



CHAPTER XXV 

PHOSPHATE ROCK 

By R. W. Stone 
USES OF PHOSPHATE ROCK 

Phosphate rock is chiefly used, after treatment with sulphuric acid, as 
an ingredient of artificial fertilizers. A small quantity is finely ground 
and used directly as fertilizer. Lesser quantities are used for making 
phosphoric acid and phosphorus. Phosphorus plays an important part 
in military operations, being used for incendiary bullets and smoke 
screens. Phosphorus also is a common ingredient of matches and the 
striking surface on boxes of safety matches, and it enters in small propor- 
tion into phosphor-bronze, phosphor-copper and phosphor-tin. 

Substitutes. — Substitutes for phosphate rock may be classed as 
natural and artificial. Natural substitutes are phosphatic limestone; 
other phosphate-bearing minerals, such as apatite, nelsonite, and wavel- 
lite; guano; marl; animal excrement and bones. Artificial substitutes in- 
clude basic slag and manufactured compounds, like ammonium phosphate. 

GEOLOGICAL OCCURRENCE 

Phosphate rOck is a sedimentary deposit containing phosphate of 
lime. It occurs as a hard rock interstratified with beds of sandstone, 
shale, or other sediments; as amorphous nodular concretions or pebbles 
in stream deposits; and as a residuum from the decomposition of phos- 
phatic dolomite or limestone, or other rocks containing phosphate of lime. 
Another type of deposit commonly classed as phosphate rock is the porous 
coralline or other limestone of tropical islands which has been permeated 
with phosphate leached from guano. 

Phosphate deposits of the western United States, Algeria, Tunis, 
and Egypt are hard rock beds of the first type. Amorphous nodular 
deposits occur in South Carolina, part of Florida, Wales, England, 
Belgium, north-central and eastern France, and Russia. The deposits 
in Tennessee, Kentucky, and some of those in Florida are residual. 
Leached guano deposits are found on the islands of Aruba, Curacao, and 
Sombrero, in the West Indies, and on Christmas, Ocean, Makatea, Angaur 
and other islands in the Indian and South Pacific oceans. 

The reserves in the United States are fairly well known and are 

402 



PHOSPHATE ROCK 403 

estimated at 6,000,000,000 tons. Reserves of high-grade rock in Algeria 
and, Tunis have been estimated at 300,000,000 tons. No information 
is at hand regarding the quantity of phosphate rock in Egypt or in 
Europe, except that Russia is believed to have 80,000,000 tons in one of 
its fields. The deposits in the South Pacific islands are estimated at 
70,000,000 tons. Before the war the world's output of phosphate rock 
was about 6,000,000 tons annually, of which about one-half was mined in 
the United States. The next largest production is made in northern 
Africa. 

Phosphoric acid is derived also from apatite, a calcium phosphate 
that occurs in veins. Apatite has been mined in the Province of Quebec, 
Canada, and in Spain. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

In the Western Hemisphere phosphate rock is produced in the United 
States, in Canada, the Dutch West Indies, and French Guiana, and 
occurs in Peru and Chile. 

United States. — The principal deposits of phosphate rock in the 
United States are in Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, 
Arkansas, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah. Although by far the 
largest deposits are in the western states, those deposits yield less than 
1 per cent, of the whole because of the lack of a large near-by market 
and because of high freight rates on the crude rock. It is not a matter 
of common knowledge, but it is, nevertheless, a fact, that the western rock 
phosphate deposits are so extensive as to be practically inexhaustible, 
even if the entire world depended on them for its supply of phosphate. 

The Florida phosphate deposits, which are the most extensively 
developed in the United States, comprise three classes of phosphate — 
hard rock, land pebble, and river pebble. The first is highest grade, the 
second is produced in largest quantity, and the third is not mined at 
present. The hard-rock deposits lie in a narrow strip along the western 
part of the Florida peninsula from Suwanee County to Pasco County, 
a distance of approximately 100 miles. The land-pebble phosphate area, 
just east of Tampa, is about 30 miles long and 10 miles wide. Sales of 
Florida phosphate declined tremendously after 1913 through the restric- 
tion on exports by the war. In 1913 the sales were 2,500,000 tons, valued 
at $9,500,000, and in 1915 the production was 1,350,000 tons, valued at 
$3,700,000. 

South Carolina produces land rock phosphate in the vicinity of 
Charleston. River-pebble phosphate occurs in the same area but is not 
mined. Some of the South Carolina output has been exported annually. 
Sales decreased from 169,000 tons in 1911 to 83,000 in 1915, and the value 
in the same years from $673,000 to $311,000. 



404 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Tennessee deposits of rock phosphate are in the west-central part and 
extreme northeast corner of the state; the latter have not been mined. 
Three types are recognized and known by their colors as brown, blue, 
and white rock; the last has not been mined recently. The brown rock 
is sold under guarantee of 70 to 80 per cent, tricalcium phosphate; the 
blue rock varies considerably in its phosphatic content. Sales of Tenn- 
essee phosphate in 1914 were 483,000 tons, valued at $1,823,000; by 
1915 they had fallen to 390,000 tons, valued at $1,328,000. 

Kentucky has been an insignificant producer 'of phosphate rock in 
recent years. Arkansas phosphate deposits are in the north-central part 
of the state. The output is small. 

Four western states possess enormous deposits of high-grade rock 
phosphate, but their output is as yet insignificant, being only 3,000 to 
5,000 tons a year. The producing states are Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. 
Montana is not a producer, although it contains extensive deposits easy 
of access and close to rail transportation. 

Idaho has an unlimited supply of high-grade phosphate in the south- 
east part of the state. A small quantity is mined in Bear Lake County. 
The Utah deposits are east of Great Salt Lake, in the Wasatch and Uintah 
ranges, and east of Bear Lake. These deposits are extensive, but the 
rock is leaner than the general run of the Idaho phosphate, averaging 
nearer 60 per cent, than 80 per cent, tricalcium phosphate. Westell 
Wyoming also is rich, in rock phosphate, the deposits being mostly in the 
Owl Creek, Wind River, Gros Ventre, and Salt River ranges. Some of 
the beds are thick, carrying 80 per cent, tricalcium phosphate, and extend 
for many miles. They constitute a reserve supply that may be called 
inexhaustible. Small local demand for fertilizer and lack of cheap trans- 
portation may retard for some years the development of the great and 
rich western deposits. 

An estimate of the quantity of rock phosphate available in the 
United States was made several years ago and need not be revised to 
account for that mined in the meantime. It is repeated here: 

Reserves of Phosphate Rock in the United States 

Long tons 

Florida 227,000,000 

Tennessee 88,000,000 

South Carolina 9,000,000 

Kentucky 1,000,000 

Arkansas 20,000,000 

345,000,000 
Western States: Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Wy- 
oming 5,367,082,000 

Total 5,712,082,000 



PHOSPHA TE ROCK 405 

Canada. — The principal phosphatic rock in Canada is apatite, which 
occurs in workable quantity in two main districts — one in the Province 
of Ontario, the other in the Province of Quebec. These deposits, which 
were worked mainly by quarrying, are now practically abandoned. Rock 
phosphate occurs in a thin bed near Banff, Alberta, but is not used. 

South America. — In Aruba and Curacao, islands of the Dutch West 
Indies, off the coast of Venezuela, are deposits of phosphate rock, from 
which a small quantity is mined and shipped to Europe. It is reported 
that the output in 1914 was about 100,000 tons, averaging 85 to 90 per 
cent, of calcium phosphate. 

In Peru, in the Department of lea, is a deposit of nodular lime phos- 
phate, which is not used because of a local preference for guano. 

A large, rich deposit of phosphate is reported in Chile, about 300 
miles north of Valparaiso, but has not been developed as yet. 

Phosphate deposits occur on the Island of Salut and on the Conne- 
tables, close to the coast of French Guiana. The rock is exported. 

Europe. — The high-grade phosphate deposits of Belgium are ex- 
hausted, only low-grade deposits remaining. The rock is found in layers 
and pockets, and carries between 25 and 65 per cent, of bone phosphate. 
The production from 1911 to 1913 averaged more than 200,000 tons 
annually. 

The principal deposits in France are in the Somme and Oise basins. 
The best French deposits are higher grade than the Belgian, as they carry 
50 to 80 per cent, of bone phosphate, but they are nearly exhausted, only 
low-grade material remaining. The production from 1910 to 1914 was 
about 300,000 tons annually. 

Important deposits of phosphate rock in Russia can be divided into 
the northern, central, and southern groups. The deposits of the southern 
group were the only ones exploited before the war. Their output was 
about 25,000 tons a year — very small in comparison with the size of the 
deposits, which are estimated to contain more than 1,500,000,000 tons. 
Some of the rock is high grade, carrying as much as 75 per cent, trical- 
cium phosphate, but the normal grade is about 50 per cent. 

The only deposits worked extensively in Spain are apatite veins in the 
Province of Caceras. After lying idle many years these deposits were 
reopened and produced 28,000 tons in 1917. 

Low-grade phosphate in the form of beds of nodules occurs in England, 
and in Wales. The production has been slight because the deposits are 
too small for commercial exploitation. 

Africa. — The principal deposits of phosphate rock in Tunis are the 
Gafsa fields, in the southern half of the country. There phosphate occurs 
in beds several feet thick, but only those carrying more than 58 per cent, 
phosphate of lime are exploited. The deposits can be traced for several 
hundred miles, and constitute a reserve of hundreds of millions of tons. 



406 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Tunis now produces more phosphate than any other foreign country, 
its annual output being between 1,500,000 and 2,000,000 tons, most of 
which goes to southern Europe. 

The deposits of phosphate rock in Algeria are continuations of those 
in Tunis, the important mining districts being in eastern Algeria. The 
production is over 500,000 tons a year, and the exported rock carries 58 
to 68 per cent, of lime phosphate. 

Extensive deposits of phosphate occur in Egypt, near the Red Sea, in 
thin and irregular beds of the same geologic age (Eocene) as the deposits 
in Tunis and Algeria. The best deposits average 70 per cent, lime phos- 
phate and the output in 1916 was 125,000 tons. There are mines 20 
miles from Port Safalga, and concessions 12 miles inland from Kosseir 
and also at Sebaia, on the eastern bank of the Nile between Keneh and 
Assouan. Beds of phosphate are found in other districts on both sides 
of the Nile valley. Practically all the raw rock phosphate produced con- 
tains 65 per cent, or more of tricalcium phosphate and is exported mainly 
to Japan. 

Deposits of phosphate occur 80 to 120 kilometers from the city of 
Tripoli in beds more than 1 meter thick. These beds probably are a con- 
tinuation of the phosphate deposits in southern Tunis. 

Deposits of phosphate are reported in Morocco 125 kilometers south- 
southwest of Casa Blanca on the west coast and 70 kilometers from the 
end of a railroad. These deposits are said to be comparable to the Gafsa 
field, in Tunis. 

It is reported that at Dielor, in Senegal, about the latitude of Cape 
Verde, the westernmost point on the African coast, there is a phosphate 
bed which is 2 meters thick to a depth of 64 meters. The rock carries 
only 50 per cent, tricalcium phosphate, so it is not workable under present 
conditions, especially in view of the abundant high-grade rock in Algeria 
and Tunis. 

Phosphates have been found in Natal, near Weenen, Ladysmith, and 
Byrnetown, in the form of phosphatic shales and of nodules. The 
percentage of tricalcium phosphate in the phosphatic shales is too low for 
use in making superphosphates; the phosphatic nodules are of higher 
grade but not abundant enough to be of value. 

Asia and Australasia. — In the government of Uralsk, in southwestern 
Siberia, bordering on the north end of the Caspian Sea, there is reported 
to be 600,000,000 tons of phosphate rock. It is said that the greater 
part of this material carries 17 to 20 per cent, phosphoric acid, which is 
equivalent to 36 to 43 per cent, tricalcium phosphate. The government 
of Turgai, which borders Uralsk on the east, is reported to contain 67,- 
000,000 tons of phosphate rock, most of which carries 18 to 19 per cent, 
phosphoric acid, or about 40 per cent, tricalcium phosphate. The 
highest-grade material reported is 24 per cent, phosphoric acid, equivalent 



PHOSPHA TE ROCK 407 

to about 52 per cent, tricalcium phosphate. All the phosphate therefore 
is low grade. No production is reported from either of the localities. 

Low-grade phosphate rock, in sedimentary beds of considerable 
extent, and high-grade vein deposits are reported in Palestine, on the east 
side of the Jordan. The sedimentary deposits occur also on the west 
side of the Jordan. The known reserves are about 3,500,000 tons. The 
sedimentary deposits average about 48 per cent, and the vein deposits 
77 per cent, tricalcium phosphate. As the vein material is suitable for 
export, these deposits have been explored by a French company, but 
available information indicates there has been no output. 

Islands in the North Pacific Ocean. — After the discovery of phosphate 
rock on Rasa Island, 500 miles east of Formosa, a number of years ago, 
a Japanese company was formed to exploit the deposits. The rock is 
rich, carrying 75 per cent, phosphate of lime, and the reserves are esti- 
mated at 2,800,000 tons. In 1915 Rasa Island yielded 50,000 tons. A 
former German supply of phosphate is on Angaxcr Island, in the Pelew 
group, east of the southern end of the Philippines. Reserves on this 
island are estimated at 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 tons of phosphate rock, 
mostly of high grade. Germany increased the output from 45,000 tons in 
1910 to 90,000 tons in 1913. Japan has held this island since October, 
1914, and is mining 30,000 tons or more phosphate annually. 

Deposits of phosphate, consisting of replacements of dolomitic coral- 
line limestone, and phosphatic guano are reported on several other islands 
in Oceania, as Baker and Fanning Islands, in Polynesia, and Fais Island, 
in the West Caroline Islands. It is probable that on other islands there 
are commercial deposits as yet undiscovered. 

Islands in. Indian and South Pacific Oceans. — North of Adelaide, in 
Australia, are pockety deposits of phosphate; they are without regular 
stratification and are of varying quality. The annual output has been 
4,000 to 6,000 tons for several years. In the Otago district, near Claren- 
don, New Zealand, beds of phosphate 3 to 12 feet thick rest in pockets 
in limestone. There has been very little if any production. 

On Christmas Island (Straits Settlements), which lies in the Indian 
Ocean 190 miles south of Java, rock carrying 80 per cent, of bone phos- 
phate is quarried and shipped to Australia and Japan. The deposits 
seem to be irregular, but are estimated to contain several million tons of 
rock of very high grade. The island belongs to the government of Singa- 
pore. Exploitation of the deposits by the British began in 1900. Ex- 
ports in 1913 were 150,000 tons. 

Phosphate rock of high grade is mined on Ocean Island, in the Gilbert 
Archipelago, between the Marshall and Solomon Islands, east of New 
Guinea and north of New Zealand. On this and other so-called coral 
islands in the equatorial belt which for ages have been sea-bird rookeries, 
teachings from the guano have impregnated the limestone, forming phos- 



408 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

phate rock many feet deep. The deposits on this island are said to be 
many millions of tons and are among the richest in the world. They have 
been mined since 1901, and have produced as high as 300,000 tons a year. 
In 1916 the output was 70,000 tons of rock carrying about 85 per cent, 
tricalcium phosphate. The island is a British possession. 

Another British possession in the Gilbert Archipelago containing 
phosphate rock is Pleasant Island, which is also known as Nauru, or 
Ngaru, Island. The deposits are similar to those on Ocean and Christmas 
Islands, being very high in calcium phosphate and low in iron and alumina. 
Germany formerly owned this island, but it was taken over by the British 
in 1917. 

Makatea, near Tahiti, in the Society Islands, is estimated to contain 
10,000,000 tons of very high-grade phosphate rock, irregularly distributed 
between reefs and pinnacles of dolomite. The deposits were developed 
as recently as 1910 and yielded more than 300,000 tons before 1917. 
Some of the rock carries 85 per cent, lime phosphate. The island is a 
French possession. 

RECENT CHANGES AND DEVELOPMENTS 

When the World War began, exports of phosphate rock from the 
United States, ordinarily about 1,000,000 tons a year, were cut off and 
the annual production of the United States fell from 3,000,000 tons to 
1,800,000 tons. There has been a strong recovery in the domestic in- 
dustry and if labor and transportation conditions improve there should 
shortly be an annual production of nearly 3,000,000 tons for domestic 
consumption, or as much phosphate rock for our own use as formerly 
was produced for ourselves and a large export trade. 

It is surmised that northern Africa will yield larger quantities in the 
future than during the pre-war period. Production in Algeria, Tunis, 
and Egypt was probably stimulated during the war on account of the 
large reduction in the quantity of American rock sent to Europe. 

Japan doubtless will make a large output from the German deposits 
in Polynesia which came into her possession at the beginning of the war. 

COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

Ownership of the phosphate deposits in the United States is largely 
domestic; some of the Florida hard-rock deposits are owned by French 
and (before the war) German companies. The German-owned deposits 
were taken over by the Custodian of Alien-Enemy Property, and have 
doubtless passed into other hands. The phosphate deposits on Curacao, 
Dutch West Indies, are worked by the Curacao Phosphate Mining Co., 
which ships the output to England and Germany. Phosphate deposits in 



PHOSPHA TE ROCK 409 

Algeria and Tunis are exploited by French companies. Some of the 
companies work under lease. La Compagnie des Phosphates de Paris 
and La Compagnie Algerienne des Phosphates have been mentioned as 
engaged in these fields. Deposits on the lower Nile and Red Sea are 
worked by the Egyptian Phosphate Co., a British concern, and by the 
Societa Egiziana per FEstrazione de il Commercio dei Phosphati, a 
company managed by Italians. It is reported that much of the output 
goes to Japan. The Pacific Phosphate Co., Ltd., of London, operates 
under concession the phosphate deposits on Ocean and Pleasant 
islands. Japanese companies are mining phosphate on Rasa and Angaur 
islands. 

POSITION OF LEADING NATIONS 

The United States has the largest known deposits of phosphate rock 
in the world, and, as before the war, can supply the needs of other coun- 
tries as well as her own. Since mining began about 55,000,000 tons have 
been mined, or less than 1 per cent, of reserves. Great Britain possesses 
phosphate in Egypt and on Christmas, Ocean and Pleasant islands, and 
has imported from the United States and probably from northern Africa. 
France and the other Mediterranean countries have an ample supply in 
Algeria and Tunis. Germany formerly possessed rich deposits of phos- 
phate on Angaur Island, in the Pelew group, Polynesia, and on Pleasant 
and Ocean islands, but so far as known now lacks a source of supply. 
Japan has a large supply of high-grade phosphate at her disposal on 
Rasa and Angaur islands. 

SUMMARY 

The principal use of phosphate rock is as an ingredient of fertilizers. 
Lesser quantities are consumed in the manufacture of phosphoric acid, 
in phosphorus used in military operations, in the manufacture of matches, 
and in metallurgy. Both natural and artificial substitutes are available 
for many of the uses of phosphate rock. 

Phosphate rock is a sedimentary deposit containing phosphate of 
lime. It occurs as a hard rock between beds of sandstone or shale, as 
amorphous nodular phosphates in stream deposits, and as a residuum 
from the decomposition of phosphatic dolomite, limestone, and other 
phosphate-bearing rocks. The porous limestone of tropical islands, 
where it is permeated with phosphate leached from guano, is commonly 
classed as phosphate rock. 

The phosphate rock deposits of present commercial importance are 
situated in the United States, Algeria, Tunis, Egypt, and the islands of 
the Indian and South Pacific oceans, the United States possessing by 
far the largest reserves. Smaller deposits, either undeveloped or nearly 



410 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

exhausted, are in Canada, Venezuela, Chile, Belgium, France, Russia, 
England, Spain, South Australia, and New Zealand. 

During the war the exports of phosphate rock from the United States 
decreased greatly. With the return to normal conditions, however, the 
United States should experience little difficulty in becoming once more 
the principal source of phosphate rock. 

The principal phosphate-rock deposits are controlled politically by 
the United States, France (Algeria and Tunis) , and Great Britain (Egypt). 
A number of phosphate-bearing islands in the Pacific Ocean were owned 
by Germany before the war, but have been seized by Great Britain and 
Japan. 

The commercial control of the deposits of the United States is mainly 
in the hands of Americans, although German (before the war) and French 
interests own some of the Florida hard-rock deposits. The deposits of 
Algeria and Tunis are controlled by French companies. The Egyptian 
deposits are controlled by two companies, one British and the other 
Italian. 

Germany will be without a source of supply under her own control 
now that she has lost her colonies. 



CHAPTER XXVI 
POTASH 

By Hoyt S. Gale and A. W. Stockett 
NATURE AND USES OF POTASH 

The term potash is commonly used to designate any of the salts of the 
element potassium, particularly those soluble in water, which are largely 
used in agriculture and manufacturing. The element potassium is 
widely distributed as a component of rocks, soils, and vegetable and 
animal substances, but large quantities of potassium salts in forms suit- 
able for the uses of man have been found in only a few places. Ashes of 
wood, which were formerly the principal source of potash in commerce, 
now supply an inconsiderable part of the world's requirements. Since 
1860, the principal, in fact almost the only, commercial source of potash 
salts has been the immense deposits in northern Germany. The crude 
potassium salts obtained from these deposits by mining operations are 
used either as fertilizer in the form in which they are taken from the 
ground, or are purified by crystallization or manufactured into various 
compounds of potassium needed for both agriculture and other industrial 
uses. 

Use in agriculture as an ingredient of the so-called artificial or chemi- 
cal fertilizers accounts for 90 per cent, or more of the world's consumption. 
Potassium is not only one of the ten or more chemical elements essential 
to plant life, but of these ten it is one of three that frequently become so 
lacking in soils that the yield of crops is not profitable. Even if potassium 
exists in soils, it may be and often is present in some form not readily 
available for plant use, so that the addition of fresh, readily water-soluble 
salts of potassium shows prompt reaction in stimulating the growth of 
the crop. In a general way potash is supposed to supply a necessary 
plant food, that strengthens the stalk and fills the kernels of the 
growing plant. Also it is a general belief that some destructive 
plant diseases, such as blight and rust of cotton and potatoes, are largely 
favored by improper nutrition as well as by poor physical condition 
of the soil, for which potash seems to be a specific. Thus the so-called 
potash industry, by which is meant the mining and marketing of the 
principal or commonest compounds of potash, is based chiefly on use in 
agriculture. 

The other uses of the salts of potassium are many and diverse. Most 

411 



412 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

of the potassium salts have properties similar to the corresponding 
salts of sodium, and for most industrial purposes the salts of these two 
elements may be interchanged, a generalization which does not, however, 
apply to any extent whatever to the agricultural application of potassium. 
Some industrial preferences for the potassium salt depend on more 
favorable physical properties of the potassium over the sodium salt, such 
as a less tendency of the potassium salt to absorb moisture from the air. 
Other preferences depend on slight chemical differences, as for instance a 
somewhat greater solubility, which renders the purification of the potas- 
sium salt more easy. During the scarcity and high prices of the war- 
time period many substitutions have been made, which either directly or 
by some modification of practice are now proving so satisfactory that 
they will probably be continued. 

One of the most urgent demands for potash has come from the match 
manufacturers. Potassium chlorate is an important ingredient of most 
matches, and this use consumes a surprisingly large amount of potash. 
Certain varieties of glass, especially cut glass tableware (flint glass) and 
some optical glass, are made from potash, generally in the form known as 
glass-makers' carbonate. Most soap is made from soda, but potash (as 
caustic or hydroxide) is used for some of the finer grades, such as shaving, 
toilet, and shampoo soaps, especially the liquid forms. Caustic potash 
has had a considerable use in laundries, and for the scouring or washing 
of wool. The old form of black powder was made from potash as potas- 
sium nitrate or saltpeter; hence the commonly assumed military im- 
portance of potash. Black powder, though now largely superseded by 
modern high-explosive powders, still has a relatively small though 
nevertheless important application in modern warfare. There are 
other uses, which, though requiring a small total amount, include some 
important requirements, among these being the medicinal or pharmaceu- 
tical, tannery, dye, photographic, electroplate, and metallurgical needs. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The great deposits of potash in northern Germany underlie an ex- 
tensive area in the Prussian provinces of Saxony, Hanover, and in the 
duchies of Anhalt and Brunswick. The most important mining regions 
lie in an area practically encircling the Harz Mountains, 75 to 150 miles 
southwest of Berlin, and 100 to 150 miles south to southeast of Hamburg. 
This area is outlined more exactly on the accompanying index map 
(Fig. 14). 

The field originally opened at Stassfurt has since been explored by 
deep boring and developed by the sinking of mining shafts, with the result 
that there has now been outlined an estimated reserve of 20,000,000,000 
metric tons of crude potash salts, which at the present rate of the world's 



POTASH 



413 



consumption should be sufficient to last almost 2,000 years. Thus for all 
practical purposes the field may be considered as inexhaustible. 

In 1904 another important and extensive deposit of water-soluble 
potash salts was discovered by boring in the valley of the Rhine River in 
southern Alsace. Alsace, then in possession of Germany, has now been 
restored to France. The deposit is in two essentially continuous beds 
that underlie within accessible depth an area of 70 to 80 square miles of 




<~v ° i — ^ 



c 



Fig. 14. — Distribution of potash deposits in northern Germany. 

the flat bottom lands of the Rhine Valley. The beds are estimated to 
contain about 1,500,000,000 metric tons of crude potash salts, which 
average considerably richer in potash than the output of the north Ger- 
man deposits, and, being of simpler chemical composition, are more readily 
refined. The mines opening these deposits are readily accessible to 
water transportation by way of the Rhine River and the canals of the 
Rhine Valley. The distance to ocean ports is considerably longer than 
it is from the north German deposits, being about 375 miles, as compared 



414 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

with 150 miles by canal and river boats from the latter, but the amount 
of handling necessary to transport similar cargoes from the two districts 
seems to be about the same. The deposit in Alsace lies in an elliptical 
area centering about 5 miles northwest of the city of Mulhouse. 

Some potash has been produced from a deposit in Galicia, near Kalusz, 
south of Lemberg, from deposits reported to be of a type similar to those 
of north Germany, but the field has never yielded even enough potash 
to satisfy the local demand, and is thought not to be large. 

During the war relatively small outputs of potash salts were obtained 
from many independent sources, in the United States, Abyssinia, Tunis, 
and other countries. Under stress of war necessities and the complete 
shutting off of other supplies, these outputs in the aggregate formed a 
considerable amount. Much of the development probably will not be 
permanent, when strict competition with the potash from more available 
sources is renewed, but each of these fields and doubtless many others 
contain the possibilities of development that may give the world situation 
a new aspect at any time. Chief among the most immediate prospects 
for important development is a rather extensive field in eastern Spain, 
near Barcelona. This field has not as yet produced on a commercial 
scale. One estimate of the reserves in the Spanish field claims a proved 
area of 13.5 square miles containing 200,000,000 tons of potassium oxide. 

The nitrate deposits of Chile contain a small percentage of potash, 
and this is being recovered separately from the sodium nitrate at several 
of the refineries. It has been estimated that a total production of 240,000 
tons of potassium oxide annually might be derived from this source. 

Many different sources in the United States are yielding potash salts. 
The largest known deposit of soluble potash in fairly concentrated form 
is at Searles Lake, California. This is a dried saline lake, now represented 
by a bed of crystalline salts with a large amount of saturated brine rich 
in potash. The body of salts carrying the brine underlies an area of 
about 25 square miles and extends to an average depth of 70 feet. It is 
estimated that the brine alone in this deposit carries nearly 20,000,000 
tons of potassium oxide, which would be enough potash to supply the 
needs of the country for about 60 years at the present normal rate. 
Numerous small lakes in western Nebraska carry brines exceptionally 
rich in potash, and these are now yielding a considerable production of 
potash fertilizer salts. No satisfactory estimate of the reserves in this 
field is available. 

Under present operating conditions about one-third of the annual 
requirements of the United States is recoverable from the cement mills. 
About 380,000 short tons of potash, most of which is volatilized, is 
annually charged into the blast furnaces of the country. The best 
available estimates indicate that about 30,000 tons of potash have formerly 
gone to waste in molasses distillery slop, and-about 8,000 tons in Steffens 



POTASH 415 

waste water at the beet-sugar refineries of the country. Kelp and alunite 
are available in quantities sufficient to continue to yield a substantial 
production. Enormous quantities of leucite lava, carrying 10 per cent, 
of potash in an insoluble silicate form; greensand carrying 6 to 7 per cent, 
of insoluble potash; sericite with from 7 to 12 per cent., and feldspar with 
similar content, are available as raw materials of production if satisfac- 
tory commercial processes can be developed. Thus potential supplies 
of potash in the United States are practically inexhaustible. The future 
of the American potash industry, therefore, depends on the development 
of processes or methods of separation economical enough to permit the 
domestic product to compete with imported potash. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The potash deposits of northern Germany lie in the midst of a series 
of formations known as the Zechstein, the geologic age of which is Permi- 
an. Both the Alsatian and Spanish deposits are found in Oligocene 
Tertiary rocks, although the deposits were not necessarily strictly 
synchronous in origin. The Galician deposits are described as of lower 
Miocene (Tertiary) age. These are the principal known bedded deposits 
of potash in the world, for which as a class the distinction as to geologic 
age seems to have a special significance. The association of potash with 
the large salt and gypsum deposits of the world seems for some reason to 
have been exceptional in geologic history. But the determination that 
these somewhat analogous occurrences have been formed at various 
times and places is a good basis for expecting that similar deposits may 
yet be discovered elsewhere. 

CHANGES IN COMMERCIAL PRACTICE 

Before the war the world's consumption of potash was practically the 
measure of the German production, the statistics of which are available 
in considerable detail. In round numbers, Germany produced about 
10,000,000 metric tons of potash salts, averaging about 10 per cent, of 
K 2 0, of which she used more than 60 per cent, at home, and exported 
about 25 per cent, to the United States. For two years a very small 
production from Alsace had been lumped with the rest. Shortly after 
the outbreak of the war the German government placed an embargo on 
the export of potash, presumably in the hope of thereby injuring crop 
production of the Allies, and possibly because of the small military sig- 
nificance that it has. The production of potash in Germany was contin- 
ued, however, at practically the same rate as before the war, the portion 
formerly exported being distributed for fertilizer use at home. This 
naturally gave a tremendous stimulus to the efforts of other countries to 
develop sources of potash. Although no huge natural resources com- 



416 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



parable to the already known deposits were discovered, the efforts never- 
theless had a reasonable amount of success, so that the world has not 
suffered in any vital way because of deprivation of potash. The cost of 
potash in the United States and its Allied countries increased to as much 
as ten times the pre-war price, but the supply was sufficient to meet all 
of the most pressing needs. Many possibilities for production from vari- 
ous sources have been opened, for which it is still too soon to predict the 
final outcome. It appears that a number of these new enterprises have 
entered the field permanently, although there will necessarily be some 
uncertainty during the period of reconstruction. 

The ceding of Alsace to France, which is discussed in a subsequent 
paragraph, undoubtedly entails the largest and most significant change 
in the commercial situation as regards the world market for potash. A 
possibility of production from the deposits in eastern Spain holds similar 
although more remote significance. 

SOURCES OF PRODUCTION 

The output of potash during 1917, summarized by countries according 
to the best available data, is as follows : 

Table 65. — World Production of Potash in 1917 



Country 



Source of data 



Production 
(short tons) 



Average 

content K2O 

(per cent.) 



Germany .... 

Alsace 

United States. 
India 



Tunis. 



Galicia 

Russia . 



Abyssinia . 
Japan. . . . 



Chile. 
China . 



France . . 
Mexico . . 
England 
Spain. . . 



Kalisyndikat statistics. 

(Included under Germany.) 

U. S. Geological Survey. 

Rec. Geol. Surv. India, vol. 49, part 

2, p. 71. 
Jour. Soc. Chem. Ind., vol. 37, p. 294 

T. 

"Kali," vol. 7, p. 9. 
War Industrial Comm. of Russia 

report. 

Com. Fertilizer, Jan. 18, 1918, p. 44. 
Commerce Rept., Dec. 1, 1916, p. 

830. 
U. S. imports potassium nitrate. 
Commerce Rept., Nov. 27, 1918, p. 

790. 

Saline-de-Giraud 

U. S. imports saltpeter 

Kelp and blast furnace recoveries. 



9,853,171 

126,961 

23,838 
20,000 

10,000 
5,000 

5,000 
4,000 

1,750 
1,000 



11.2 

25.6 

40. 1 
40.0 

10.0 



? 
? 

25. 1 
? 



300 

115 40. 1 

? 
No production 



Total 10,051,135 



1 Estimated from data indicated. 



POTASH 417 

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

Germany. — The potash industry in Germany is reported to have 
represented an investment of M.500,000,000 ($119,000,000). In 1918 
there were 209 mines capable of producing, as indicated by the Kali- 
syndikat list assigning quotas for anticipated production from the in- 
dividual mines for the year. 

Most of these mines are privately owned under a variety of laws in 
the several German states and provinces. Originally the developments 
are said to have taken place under various local regulations; for example, 
in Hanover the mining rights belonged to the property holders, in 
Saxony the prospecting rights were free and the mining concessions 
belonged to the first discoverer of the deposits without regard to the 
owner of the surface soil, and in Anhalt mining was at first declared to be 
a state monopoly, which was later contracted to a few private companies. 
Some properties are, however, owned and operated by the state. The 
Prussian government owns mines at Stassfurt, Bleicherode, and Vienen- 
burg; the Duchy of Anhalt has large works at Leopoldshall; and the 
Duchy of Brunswick holds interest in some potash properties. 

Two instances of participation by American concerns in the German 
industry are known. The International Agricultural Corporation, an 
American company organized in 1909, was for a time the owner of all 
the capital stock of the Sollstedt Works in Germany. Later, one-half 
interest in this American corporation was transferred to the Kaliwerke 
Aschersleben, another German concern, under conditions which seemed 
to complicate the matter of ownership. The Virginia-Carolina Chemical 
Co., of Richmond, Virginia, is reported to have purchased a controlling 
interest in the Einigkeit Works, presumably by a direct cash transaction. 

Under a law of the German Reichstag, known as the potash act of the 
25th of May, 1884, an obligatory control of the potash industry in Ger- 
many was ordained. A common agency, known as the Kalisyndikat, was 
established, to represent all of the mines, with power to control the open- 
ing of new mines, the output of each mine, and the selling prices of potash 
salts. The industry has thus become a trust re-enforced by the German 
government, although the private ownership of individual properties 
remains. This syndicate differs from an American syndicate in that it is 
formed for a limited period of time, in the present case 5 years, and its 
working capital is small, only enough to provide for the actual working 
needs of the organization. The object of the syndicate is to prevent dis- 
astrous competition, to insure that the supply will conform to the demand, 
and that reasonable profits may be obtained by producers. 

The mines or works composing the potash syndicate, as with most 
mining syndicates in Germany, may be either of the limited liability 
sort, the shares of which are not assessable, or those whose capital stock 

27 



418 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

is divided into shares called "kuxe," which are assessable at anytime and 
are of unlimited liability. The shares of both kinds are dealt in on the 
exchanges in the large cities of Germany. 

Each company that is a member of a German syndicate has its 
representative on the board of management of the trust, and this board 
fixes the quota of production allowed each mine, and generally adminis- 
ters the affairs of the entire combination under its constitution and 
by-laws (statuten). 1 The constitution and by-laws must be signed by 
each concern entering the syndicate and the provisions therein contained 
strictly observed under penalties enforceable in courts of law. 

The weak point in this form of organization is the dissension that 
often arises over the quotas allowed the different members. Each com- 
pany wants as large an allotment as it can get. Upon the expiration of 
the life of a syndicate there is always uncertainty as to whether it will 
be renewed, owing to competition among the various constituent 
firms. 

Before the war, under the terms of the contracts of the five large 
fertilizer companies with the German potash syndicate, one-half of the 
maximum discount allowed was deducted from the amount of the in- 
voice covering each shipment, and the remainder was paid to the buyer at 
the end of each hah year, provided he made a statement in writing to the 
syndicate to the effect that he had purchased his entire requirements of 
potash from the syndicate. Thus by allowing maximum discounts to 
the large buyers, and preventing them from dealing in potash from any 
source except the syndicate, this provision aimed to stifle the develop- 
ment of any competitive sources of supply. 

Alsace. — The potash deposits of Alsace were developed under the 
German mining law for Alsace-Lorraine of December 16, 1843, amended 
July 14, 1908, with specific reference to potash. Since the armistice the 
German mines have been operated under the sequestration regime, under 
charge of the French military authorities, directed by the ministry of 
industrial reconstruction in France. Now that the treaty of peace has 
been ratified by Germany, Alsace may be regarded as having formally 
and finally passed into the possession of France, and with this naturally 
the political and commercial control of the Alsatian potash deposits. It 
remains therefore for the French Parliament to determine what the final 
disposition of the former German ownership of these properties shall be, 
and questions such as nationalization or French-Alsatian control were 
being discussed in the summer of 1920. 

Although most of the concessions in the Alsatian potash field had 
been granted to German interests, the development was started by Alsa- 
tians, and two of the concessions are in French- Alsatian ownership. 

1 Abstract from Daily Consular and Trade Reports, No. 265, vol, 4, Nov. 11, 1911, 
p. 760. 



POTASH 419 

These have not been and probably will not be altered, unless they are 
to enter some voluntary combination. 

An agency for the sale and distribution of the Alsatian potash has 
been arranged in the United States, and for the present at least the prod- 
uct is coming in direct competition with the salts from the older German 
mines. 

Spain. — The potash deposits recently discovered in the provinces 
of Barcelona and Lerida, of Cataluna, in eastern Spain, are subject to 
special regulations of the Spanish government. A large area of conces- 
sions already granted to private interests covers a considerable part of the 
field outlined by exploratory borings. Operations on these concessions 
are permitted, but the state reserves the right to subordinate the exploita- 
tion to the interests of the country, and impose special conditions in favor 
of the consumption of the potash produced in Spain. Recently, unex- 
plored state lands have been opened, by royal decree, to bids for explora- 
tion and lease. The scheme follows in general the plan of governmental 
control of the German potash industry. According to it, all concessions 
for the working and sale of salts are subject in many details to govern- 
mental control. Among other conditions, working must be continuous 
save in certain exempted circumstances; the state shall fix annually the 
home and export prices, as well as the maximum and minimum quota 
for each mine. 

Other Countries. — Before the war, the Austrian potash syndicate, 
which consisted of the Austrian government and a group of capitalists, 
controlled the deposits near Kalusz, in Galicia. No specific governmental 
regulation is reported for the minor operations connected with the produc- 
tion of potash in other countries. 

SUMMARY 

More than 90 per cent, of the potash handled in the world's commerce 
is used as a fertilizer. The rest is used as a chemical in various industries, 
chief among which are the manufacture of matches, certain kinds of 
glass and soap, and the better grades of black powder. The uses specifi- 
cally mentioned in this paragraph are essential, as no satisfactory sub- 
stitutes are known. 

Up to 1914 practically all of the potash used in the world came from 
the deposits in northern Germany, which are substantially inexhaustible. 
Next in importance are uhe deposits of Alsace, which contain enough 
potash to meet the world's present demands for almost 300 years. Other 
resources are known in Spain, Galicia, Abyssinia, the nitrate beds of Chile, 
and in deposits in the United States, but it is too early to predict with 
assurance what part they will play in the expansion of the potash industry. 

Germany will no longer be able to maintain a world monopoly of 



420 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

the potash market. The passing of control of the important resources 
in Alsace from Germany to France foreshadows competition from recog- 
nized adequate sources of supply. There are many other possibilities, 
the mere potentialities of which are sufficient to restrain any tendency 
to unreasonable extortion by those who control the German fields. 
Moreover, attention has been so directed to the desirability of developing 
independent sources, and so much able technical talent is now being 
devoted toward bringing successful issue from the many undertakings 
in progress, that it is very unlikely that this country, or any other, will 
in the future be dependent on one or two arbitrarily handled monopolies. 



CHAPTER XXVII 
NITROGEN 

By Chester G. Gilbert 

USES OF NITROGEN 

Plant life requires nitrogen and gets it in the normal cycle of events. 
But when the occasion calls for stimulating the growth of plant life by 
feeding, by soil fertilization in other words, nitrogen in available form 
is indispensable. Further down along the channels of food supply it 
exercises another and equally important function in providing the chemi- 
cal (ammonia) around which the modern practice of refrigeration is built. 
Likewise, the chemistry of explosives is basically the chemistry of nitro- 
gen compounds. Nor is this all, for chemical operations in general — 
hence research and industrial chemistry in general — involve the employ- 
ment of nitrogen compounds. Such, in brief, is its status. On each of 
three major counts, the interests of food production, of food distribution, 
and of national defense, it is indispensable; and of no less consequence 
is the retinue of less conspicuous agencies serving the interests of 
chemistry at every turn. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The development of fixed nitrogen sources is conditioned by three 
simple chemical facts. With these three simple facts in mind the rest 
follows largely as a matter of inference. The facts are: 

That under all ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure, free 
nitrogen is a gas. 

That it is extremely inert and indisposed to participate with other 
elements in the formation of chemical compounds. 

That such combinations when they do occur are characteristically 
soluble. 

In consequence of these three governing principles, along with its 
relationship to organic matter, as alluded to under the preceding caption, 
nitrogen has four habits of occurrence, worth considering as at least 
potential sources of supply. 

Atmospheric Nitrogen. — Being indisposed to participate in chemical 
combinations, nitrogen in the course of world evolution was left largely 
to itself; and since in the free state it is normally gaseous, it established its 
home in the atmosphere. Thus it comes about that the atmosphere 
today is approximately four-fifths nitrogen gas, and after all is said and 

421 



422 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

done the atmosphere is bound to constitute the great source to which we 
must turn for our supplies. With a source so boundlessly ever-present, 
the question of supply at first glance looks simple enough. But atmos- 
pheric nitrogen, it must be remembered, is nitrogen uncombined, and 
the demand is not for nitrogen itself but for nitrogen-bearing compounds. 
Once in a state of combination, it may remain so indefinitely, and the 
form of combination may be changed more or less readily to suit the 
demand. Before it can be put to use, however, it must be induced to 
surrender its gaseous freedom and affix itself in some such state of com- 
bination. The free nitrogen must become fixed nitrogen — hence the 
terms fixed nitrogen, nitrogen fixation, and the like in common use. 
Toward this end it must be induced to do what it has not seen fit to do 
of its own accord, and the very trait of aloofness responsible for the in- 
exhaustible resources of atmospheric nitrogen stands as an obstacle op- 
posing their utilization. The obstacle has not proven insuperable, as 
will appear later; but it is sufficiently a source of trouble even to this day, 
so that the fixed-nitrogen situation may with peculiar appropriateness 
be characterized as distinctly in the air. 

Nitrate Ore Deposits. — The disposition on the part of nitrogen to 
take up its abode in the atmosphere has an obvious result in minimizing 
the development of mineral nitrates. Atmospheric nitrogen is not en- 
tirely stagnant, however. Natural processes are constantly at work 
effecting substantial fixation. The processes are not obtrusively 
energetic, as in the case of atmospheric oxygen, whose fixation processes 
constitute the ever-present phenomena of oxidation. Still, in various 
ways, the most prominent among which is undoubtedly a form of bac- 
terial action, nitrification and the building up of nitrate minerals every- 
where in the soil goes quietly forward, and their concentration in ore 
deposits of more or less plentiful occurrence is thus to be looked for in 
the natural course of geologic events. In attempting to trace their 
further course, however, we are confronted at the outset by the principle 
of solubility. The nitrate minerals are in the nature of soluble salts. 
They leach from the immediate environment in which they form, just 
as do the soluble minerals in general. Mostly these latter are carried 
in solution to the ocean, adding themselves to its salinity; but under 
exceptional conditions of topography, where the drainage feeds into land- 
locked basins, the water finds itself entrapped with no avenue of escape 
except through evaporation. Here the salts accumulate, become concen- 
trated, and finally give rise to deposits. 

This, in outline, is the course set for the soluble mineral salts as a 
class, and it is along this course that we must expect to trace the develop- 
ment of nitrate ore deposits. But the ocean, with its 33^ per cent, of 
salinity, has only traces of nitrate minerals; and the same is true for the 
waters of land-locked basins, in all the various stages of concentration. 



NITROGEN 423 

Their solubility is such that they can not have escaped in substantial 
form along the way. There is only one inference to be drawn. Evi- 
dently the inherent trait of aloofness is not lost to nitrogen when it does 
combine. The compounds do not survive for any length of time, but 
undergo dissociation, releasing their nitrogen and returning it to the 
atmosphere even as other processes are slowly withdrawing it from the 
atmosphere. 

With this the eternal cycle is closed for nitrogen, and closed without 
apparent provision for any considerable side-tracking, such as would be 
required in the building up of ore deposits. So much for the rule; now 
as to the exceptions : Mostly they are of minor consequence. Pockety 
enrichments in the soil are common. Accumulations tend to build up 
in caves, and may even grow to be of consequence in a small way, as 
during the Civil War, when they helped materially toward relieving the 
nitrogen troubles of the blockaded Confederacy. In arid country, too, 
they not infrequently assume sufficient prominence to be of interest, 
especially at the hands of the promoter. Finally, there are the Chilean 
nitrate fields, which far from being of minor consequence, go to the other 
extreme in catering to the needs of the entire world. 

These occurrences, especially the last named, have served to keep 
alive the hope that others of economic importance await discovery. 
The Chilean deposits alone among them all deserve more than passing 
notice. The origin of these deposits is veiled in uncertainty. Just 
why or how the natural forces, which elsewhere as a matter of universal 
observation have been seen to oppose both the formation of nitrogen 
salts and the accumulation of such as do manage to form, should have 
failed in this particular instance remains wholly conjectural. A con- 
clusive explanation would be of the utmost value in determining the 
likelihood of similar occurrences elsewhere. But none has been forth- 
coming, and nothing is to be gained to the present purpose from stopping 
to inquire into the plausibility of the various attempts that have been 
made. Confronting us on the one hand are the evidences of a nitrogen 
cycle established, seemingly, without affording any visible loophole of 
opportunity for the accumulation of extensive deposits; on the other hand 
stands the bare fact of enormous deposition. This fact of existence 
unquestionably carries with it the possibility of duplication elsewhere. 
However, the fact of occurrence merely suggests the possibility, but does 
not determine the chances of recurrence. These are recorded in the 
prevalence of the conditions requisite to extensive deposition. In the 
case of nitrogen they are unique beyond comprehension, and the prospect 
of recurrence is to precisely the same degree unlikely. Accordingly, to 
all practical purposes, a review of the world's nitrate ore deposits, both 
real and potential, resolves itself down to a review of the Chilean occur- 
rence. 



424 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

The Chilean nitrate fields lie in the arid valley basin to the east of the 
lofty coast range and just south of the present Peruvian boundary line. 
They do not occur as a single expansive area of deposition, but as de- 
posits scattered here and there along the desert land at the bases of the 
mountain slopes. The formation consists of a conglomerate or breccia 
of rock material from the adjacent slopes, cemented with a mixture of 
soluble salts in which sodium chloride, common salt, is the dominant 
member, with sodium nitrate ranking second. The formation is called 
caliche. It lies for the most part just below the surface of the ground and 
varies from a few feet to many feet in thickness. Only in scattered 
patches is the caliche high enough in content of sodium nitrate to warrant 
treatment. These patches are sought out and excavated, and the picked 
ore is loaded in carts, which haul it to the extraction plant for treatment. 
Here the soluble salts as a whole are extracted in solution, and the nitrate 
in turn is segregated from the other salts by crystallization. Aside 
from haulage, hand labor is used throughout. 

The caliche regarded as worth treating contains not less than 10 
per cent, nitrate and ranges up to 25 per cent, and over, with an average 
of around 18 per cent. The product marketed is of two general grades — 
the ordinary, listed as 95 per cent, nitrate, and the refined, a guaranteed 
96 per cent, nitrate, low in sodium chloride. The deposits have been 
worked more or less consistently, and with steadily increasing output, 
since about 1830. Their importance in the scheme of nitrogen supply 
may be gathered from Figures 16 to 18. 

Organic Nitrogen. — Another source of fixed nitrogen grows out of 
its relationship to life processes, and is consequent on the very require- 
ments of organized society which earlier it is called upon to assist in 
meeting. In other words, fixed nitrogen participates in the material 
cycle of life. It enters into the material demands of life for food, and 
it is yielded up among the material discards available to absorption. 
All manner of residuum, animal and vegetable alike, affords at least a 
potential source of fixed-nitrogen supply. Some of these are in service; 
others for one reason or another are not. Prominent among those in 
the former class are animal excreta, the so-called tankage from animal 
rendering plants, slaughter-house refuse, fish scrap, and vegetable-prod- 
uct refinery refuse. Most prominent among those still largely potential 
are sewage and garbage disposal. 

The nitrogen from these organic sources does not appear on the 
market as such. Instead, the products enter in bulk into the make-up 
of fertilizer. They are of miscellaneous character, and only part of what 
is contributed collects to pass through industrial channels where its 
flow may be measured. The industrial flow goes on record and the 
records are available, but even here the nitrogen content has never been 
systematically computed, so the record is inadequate. For the rest, 



NITROGEN 425 

the portion that does not reach the channels of industry, there is nothing 
whatever in the way of data to go by. Taken all in all, then, the signifi- 
cance of the organic nitrogen resources is largely conjectural. This is 
unfortunate. Approximate figures covering the use of organic nitrogen 
would be of value in various connections, as in the interests of intelligent 
allocation in times of nitrogen shortage, as helping to determine the 
extent to which the growing demands of agriculture incident to the growth 
of population may be discounted from the consequent expansion of scaven- 
ging opportunity, or as affording a basis for estimating the very con- 
siderable influence of motorization toward increasing the demand for 
chemically prepared fertilizers. 

As things stand, all such questions of relationship lead only to profit- 
less speculation. Even the relative importance of the organic sources 
as a whole in the economics of nitrogen supply is uncertain. What they 
have to offer of undeveloped reserves, now taking the form of wasteful 
sanitation procedure, will be taken up later. Under existing conditions, 
it is probably fair to assume that 40 to 50 per cent, of the nitrogen nor- 
mally put to use in the United States is organically associated. 

Carboniferous Deposits. — Nitrogen in its organic relationships is 
bound up with carbon, of which organic matter is largely composed, and 
the bond between the two is entirely disestablished only as the carbon 
itself loses its substantial form through oxidation. In consequence of 
this enduring alliance, nitrogen is characteristically present in carbonif- 
erous deposits, a form of occurrence giving rise to still another, a fourth 
type of nitrogen resource. Coal and oil-shale loom up as the outstanding 
representatives of this class. In each, the nitrogen content is variable, 
but amounts to 1 per cent, or over. With so low a percentage of nitrogen, 
it goes without saying that neither of these is to be regarded as a possible 
source of direct supply. The cost would be prohibitive, even under the 
stress of the most extreme emergency. The nitrogen in a coal bed or an 
oil-shale formation is as worthless as the iron in any ordinary rock. But 
coal has other uses, and so has oil shale, or at least will shortly. The 
nitrogen does not have to be extracted; it gets released incidentally, 
and when its release is effected under conditions that prevent its escape, 
the result is a productive nitrogen resource. The nitrogen from this 
type of resource is in the form of ammonia, the relative importance 
of which is shown in Figures 16 to 18 and Table 66. 

GENERAL ASPECTS OF CONTROL 

Such is the nature of the nitrogen resources. The resource situation 
as a whole is represented graphically in Figure 15. None other can com- 
pare with it for inclusiveness. Its sources are animal, vegetable, mineral, 
and atmospheric, which is to say, universal; and out of this unparalleled 



426 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



o a 



O PI 

•-J3.2 






S'-gS 



2 o 
P. o 

a-* 



as 

S2§ 
p o 



PI O 
O 



(OtONNOON^OO^NMNKJOON 

"^1 -hT rr\ eft" eft in rft r*i nn rva" ra ^ q~ iq lO CO CN 

O) iO © N M H 



©O^fCO-cWCOOOOOOOOOOOOO 
Ot^CNt>cOCT>0©0000©0©000 

C N H DO (O N q w •>* «o o o ©^ o ©_ o © o 

* >0 CO* OJ" *C 'O 
05 00 ■* 00 (M 



00000»OiOiOOOiC«5»0»0000 
OOOOOt^OiOO^OCOb-t^OOO 
OOOOOiC03(N(N00t>T-iOTt<OOO 



«D CN O O O 



ooooo^oocoot^,,. _ . , _ _ _ 

Tt<GCO-<#»005t-~©l^OO©©iOCOCNC50 

iOiO<OtoO(ONO)ffiO>HNMiOWCO 



co" 



OONtOCCONOONNOOM'S 

CO 00 N N iO Tf (O o o m ^ ® 

rH CN CN* CN* OS id CO* 00* >o CO* « 

HlNiOHNCiiiOS 

>h th cn oo o 52 



3 2 <H PI 






2 « 






Plya a> 



2 «S S 

° «5o" 



o o o o o 

o o o o o 

© o q o o 

© o" o" o" o 

CN CO lO o © 

H M lO 



i<5SNHiMOMON0t)NNK5O»aiN 
O^MirtfO«HH(NNNiO(OHaiNMO) 

ONOON«Ot.^H00M»Nrt^00H 



.lONOOHN^OOOO^IOlO 
MONNNNtOHNIN^OONTltNH 
ONNNMMMWTltiOiOTfCiONN 
CN 



<M 00 »0 lO 



fOfflHioo!fli)iHioMo*tCHnoo 

(OONfflOOMNfflHNiOiOiOOiaOO 

q n n q q >o o q » * q oo w co cn oooo 
oo" a >o c?" ^* d o d d ic h io n oo" w in d d 

INIiMiOiOO^NHfflNOONCOiOHiOO 
COCO'*tOt^0000O5'-iTj<iOiOt-»Tj<b.OiO5C» 
h" h" h h h h" h rt" « fi N N M* ti h IN N fi 



^nq 'a^tugapui uaSoj^iu oiweaio joj b^bq 



© 




<N 


CO 


■* 


lO 


CD 


r^ 


oo 


C3 


o 


Y-H 


CN 


CO 


<# 


»o 


CO 


h- 


00 


o 


o 


O 


o 


o 


o 


O 


O 


O 


o 


















iH 


© 


OS 


o> 


© 


Oi 


© 


OJ 


© 


C5 


OJ 


© 


© 


© 


© 


05 


© 


© 


© 


OS 



NITROGEN 



427 



diversity has grown an industrial development as complex as it is diversi- 
fied, and, incidentally, in view of its bearing on food and munitions supply, 
as important as it is complex. The situation at best can be but imper- 
fectly grasped, for it has been but inadequately studied. In transgressing 
all set rules of resource occurrence, it transgresses the limits set for or- 



^osp/ie^ 










(/ses 



NITROGEN RESOURCES 



Fig. 15. — Nitrogen sources and their cycles of utilization. 

ganized investigation. Geologists have studied one phase of the situa- 
tion, electrochemists another, sanitation experts another, and so on; 
and the various commercial interests involved have seen to the giving 
of publicity where publicity would do the most good. 

But an investigation working on the basis of geology alone can not 
cope with the situation; neither can one on the basis of technology alone; 



428 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



nor one on the basis of organic chemistry, or bacteriology alone; nor 
yet one prepared to employ any or all of these means, but only with a view 




§11 



.?££ 



to some special end. Nor yet again does the discordant grinding of many 
axes make a noise from which it is possible to gather an adequate compre- 



NITROGEN 429 

hension. The nitrogen situation has been inadequately treated because 
it has been inadequately studied. It has been studied piecemeal, always 
through the medium of limited means or with some special end in view. 
It is not a series of technical problems in geology, in bacteriology, in 
fixation, in munitions supply, and the like. It has to do with a composite 
economic structure, building for the dependence of society in peace and 
war alike. Until treated as such, the needs of the situation are bound 
to be inadequately met and its control a matter of perilous uncertainty. 
The present discussion makes no pretense of supplying this deficiency 
or of doing much of anything more than to show the extent to which 
it exists. 

Figure 15 is designed to show not so much the scope of the resources 
as their composite functioning in the system of nitrogen supply. The 
influence of geography in the control of resources so universally available 
is bound to be subordinate. True, it enables Chile to exercise monopolis- 
tic control over the mineral nitrate supply, but it leaves the way open for 
the development of others; and while acknowledging the fullness of our 
dependence, as shown in Figures 16 to 18 and Table 66, we must not lose 
sight of the fact that it is so not of necessity, but because we have been 
content to leave it so rather than undertake to develop supplies of our 
own. So, too, with political control; what is gained in one direction is, 
potentially at least, offset by the possibilities opening up in others. Con- 
trol of the sea gives a control over the mineral nitrate supply as absolute 
as that in Chile's territorial monopoly. Yet in the recent great war, Ger- 
many, with her shipping obliterated at the outset, was not made to suffer 
materially from a nitrogen shortage. Britain's supremacy of the sea went 
for naught. In the years before the war the force due in season to exercise 
control over the nitrate supply served only to stimulate the development 
of domestic potentialities, with the result that when the test came Ger- 
many's proved actually to be the more advantageous equipment. 

So it goes. Control over the nitrogen resources themselves is im- 
possible. They are too universally available. Their only susceptibility 
to control is in the shaping of their development. This is too important 
a matter to be disregarded with impunity and left to develop without 
guidance. The modern nation that does so courts the irrepressible 
disaster of a nation at war but bereft of the means not only of waging 
war but of maintaining a food supply as well. From Figure 16 may be 
gathered the quality of attention given the matter of domestic supply 
by the different nations immediately before and during the war. Ger- 
many, it will be observed, heeded the call to give the matter special 
attention well before the war and had an independent system of supply 
developed in readiness, drawing upon the atmosphere and coal -product 
nitrogen with the results already chronicled. Great Britain did not 
ignore the importance of nitrogen, but placed reliance on her supremacy 



430 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



of the sea and paid little or no attention to shaping the course of develop- 
ments. Nor did its importance go unheeded elsewhere abroad, and the 
foothold gained for fixation in France, Italy, Austria, Russia, and Japan 
was, it is safe to say, not wholly automatic. The United States alone 




among the great nations up to the outbreak of hostilities in Europe in 
1914 neglected to take any special precautions whatever. 

The war, when it came, far exceeded all expectations as to magnitude, 
and so in consequence did the demand for specially developed nitrogen 
supplies. To meet the emergency, some could be deflected from agri- 



NITROGEN 



431 



cultural channels, but nothing like what was required, for food was just 
as important as munitions. The organic sources offered no help. Rather 
they were a hindrance; for organic nitrogen, broadly speaking, comes as 



















u 


•> 

i 


t 
v. 
« 

1 


I 

3 1 

J 






1 

1 






























C 

V) V 

"3 * 


" 5, 








s^ 

*. 

^ 






o 
















c 




•5 £ l " 










at 
















* 


i 


'» 




7< 








— 
















i 


W> 


i 


I 


2*g 












^ 

^ 






























vk 


P 
% 












V 

^i 


§S 






































/// 





1 








§§§ 


p 


3 


1 


00 










un os 




























^ 








^ 


1 


1 


at y 

~ o 
o 








05 




































i 


l 


1 








¥\\ 


•v 




































1 


^ 
^ 


1 


o 






<j\V 


£ 






<J\V 


03 


































g^x 


i 


| 


1 


o 
































111 


\\\ 




^ 


m 

o a 


































;yyx\ 


§ 


1 


1 


<» § 




111 


p. 




































i 


8 


8 


T3 




































^ 
^ 


1 


1 






































§ 


|* 


1; 






































Is 


I 




1 

m 2 






































1 


1 


£ 6 








































| 






































i 


V\\ 








































li 


1 




































im 


i 


§ 


c 
c 
c 
c 
c 


1 








c 
c 
c 
c 
c 
ir 


> 
> 

► 
> 








c 
c 
c 
c 
c 
c 


> 

r 

> 
> 








o 
o 
o 
o" 
o 
in 








o 





8UOJ_ 



a by-product of sanitation, and as such develops as the outgrowth of 
civilization's refinements. There was a measurable response from the 
carboniferous sources, but these could not be made to meet the emergency , 



432 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

for, being of by-product order, the supply is determined not in response to 
the demand for nitrogen but for the major products. Dependence on 
the native mineral source in Chile was out of the question, or at least 
precarious for any country except Great Britain. Accordingly, of the 
four great sources it remained for atmospheric nitrogen to meet the 
emergency. Thus, the war in bringing the nitrogen situation emphati- 
cally to the fore, communicated practically the whole weight of its tre- 
mendous impetus to development in the one direction of fixation. The 
result is shown in Figure 18. 

Roused by the nightmare of war in 1914, even the United States 
awoke to the perils if not to the real needs of the domestic situation. It 
is a striking and highly significant fact that despite the fundamental 
importance of nitrogen, the awakening found us absolutely without any 
formulated program of action, even military or agricultural, let alone 
anything of comprehensive economic scope. A hysterical effort at 
improvising a program ensued. We were not yet in the war, and public 
interest was just roused to the gullible stage. The opportunity for 
private pickings from public favors was too promising to go by the board. 
The only prospect opening up lay in the direction of fixation developments, 
and fixation in the hands of the promoter is one of the most appealing 
propositions imaginable. Its major requirements are nitrogen and power. 
With the former inexhaustibly present in the air and the latter inexhausti- 
bly available in the wasting waterpowers of the country, nothing it would 
seem, could offer greater promise. Add to this the reflection that cheap 
nitrogen means cheap fertilizer, and cheap fertilizer means lowered cost 
of foodstuffs, and the proposition broadcasted over the country is com- 
plete. Out of the confusion of interests, public, political, and private, a 
program was finally evolved, following our entry into the war, calling 
for the erection of a series of fixation plants with an aggregate producing 
capacity of around 85,000 tons of fixed nitrogen annually. For the 
present is must suffice to say that the war ended before any of these had 
reached the producing stage, and the United States, like Great Britain, 
depended on imports. 

The charts comprising Figure 16 show the influence of the war in the 
development of nitrogen distributively among the countries concerned. 
The Scandinavian developments, while actuated from wholly commercial 
motives, were so largely influenced by the politically stimulated market 
that they may well enough be included in that general class of politically 
controlled developments. The same is true for the neutral countries in 
general. Figure 18, based on the best information obtainable, is designed 
to bring out the collective influence of the war in contributing to the 
world's supply. Organic nitrogen is disregarded both because it in- 
volves too many uncertainties and because the wartime emphasis was 
all in the direction of chemical nitrogen. This figure takes into con- 



NITROGEN 433 

sideration only the actual production and leaves out what was in process 
of construction when the war ended. Accordingly, while in one respect 
it overrates the effect of the war by including strictly commercial opera- 
tions that very possibly might have transpired anyway, in another it 
underrates the situation by disregarding developments like those in this 
country. The best that can be done is to consider these as balancing 
each other, which, all things considered, is probably fair enough for all 
practical purposes. Taken on this basis, the net effect of the war, it 
will be observed, was to swell the production of fixed nitrogen some 40 or 
50 per cent, above the figures indicated for the normal rate of expansion. 
Thus the wartime shortage was made up; but all this is history. Now 
that the war is over, the question arises as to whether the world is due to 
face the situation in reverse. In making ready for war, and finally 
in meeting its demands, has the world been building up a 50 per cent, 
over-production beyond the needs of peace? Offhand, the answer would 
seem to be in the affirmative, but the question is not one that can be an- 
swered offhand. Agriculture is capable of absorbing an indefinite amount 
of nitrogen, and the war has wrought a lasting change in the agricultural 
situation. The changed agricultural conditions make room for much, 
perhaps for all, of the increment to nitrogen production. The develop- 
ment cannot be sustained, however, on its present arbitrary preferential 
basis of political expediency. Least of all can it be sustained on that 
basis in this country. Normally, we do not and can not be made to 
think in terms of war. The reason is evident enough, and its recurrent 
force is already apparent. Distasteful as the fact may be in some of its 
extremes of application, the only rational procedure is to accept it and 
fashion our measures of economic preparedness so that the normal activi- 
ties of peace will keep our economic forces exercised and in trim for the 
test of war. It was recognized all along before the war that without an 
assured source of nitrogen supply, our system of defense was hollow; 
but we succeeded in building up no means of supply in direct response to 
political needs. We managed to get comfortably started during the war, 
but it remains to be seen to what extent this artificially nourished develop- 
ment is fitted to withstand the bitter strife of competition ahead. 

COMMERCIAL ASPECTS OF NITROGEN CONTROL 

Free nitrogen, it will be recalled, has no economic significance. To 
be available in the industrial arts it must be in a state of chemical com- 
bination. The form of compound is of secondary importance, since this 
may be modified more or less readily to suit the need, but its value is 
conditioned in terms of its availability in the form of nitrogen compounds. 
In consequence, the several sources are classifiable industrially under 
three heads: 

2S 



434 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Natural compounds — nitrogen occurring naturally in the form of 
marketable compounds. 

By-product compounds — nitrogen rendered available incidentally in 
the course of operations otherwise directed. 

Fixation compounds — nitrogen whose availability is dependent on 
special fixation treatment. 

Natural Compounds. — Chile nitrate is the outstanding representative 
of the natural compounds. The guano industry, or what there is left 
of it, and a few other odds and ends of production from organic sources, 
belong here as well, but their combined output is so relatively small that 
the Chilean industry comprises what amounts to a monopoly of the 
natural resources. It is not operated as such, however, but by private 
capital, which owns and operates the oficinas, paying the Chilean govern- 
ment a royalty or export tax amounting to about $11.20 per ton. British 
and Chilean interests share about equally in making up the far greater 
part of the capital invested. The balance is largely German and Ameri- 
can. The total capitalization in 1909 amounted to approximately 
$134,000,000, representing an actual valuation of about $30,000,000. 
Various efforts on the part of the commercial interests involved to effect 
combinations for the purpose of stabilizing production have been at- 
tempted, but have not been entirely successful, and the general tendency 
has all along been toward overproduction. 

The operations, as already outlined on page 424, are crude, and the 
cost of production is correspondingly high, amounting to around $25 to 
$30 per ton at seaboard, inclusive of the $11 export tax. The nitrate is 
marketed largely through commission houses. The American situation 
is mostly in the hands of three companies, W. R. Grace & Co., E. I. 
du Pont de Nemours Powder Co., and Wessel, Duval & Co. The mag- 
nitude of the Chilean industry as a whole and its relative importance 
are shown in Figures 16 to 18 and Table 66. 

By-product Compounds. — To this class of compounds belong, with 
the few minor exceptions already noted, the nitrogenous products of 
organic derivation as a whole, and those from carboniferous sources 
such as coal and oil shale. From the former source comes a miscellany 
of organic refuse resulting from activities dealing with animal, vegetable, 
and fish products, and carrying nitrogen in the form of organic ammo- 
niates commonly left as such for use in agriculture. From the latter the 
nitrogen recovered is all chemical nitrogen in the form of ammonia or 
ammonium salts, mostly ammonium sulphate, and is available in all 
capacities. 

The organic production is impossible of definite analysis from any 
angle. The lack of systematically compiled records, and back of that 
the miscellaneous largely decentralized character of the output, along 
with the fact that the producing costs are for the most part indistinguish- 



NITROGEN 



435 



able, leaves altogether too much to the imagination. Much of the 
supply is derived from connections of sanitation, especially of local 
sanitation, such as the rural practice, for which there is no measure what- 
ever. Another prominent source of supply is represented in what is 
known as tankage, the refuse from animal-rendering plants; but here too 
the issue is lost in the scattering of the production, the indefiniteness of 
composition, and the fact that not all of the product is used as a source 
of nitrogen, some of it going into the preparation of animal food. The 
same is true of cottonseed meal and various other less prominent forms 
of organic waste resulting from industrial activities. Fish scrap and 
slaughter-house refuse from meat packing also contribute prominently 
and at the same time rather more definitely to the supply of agricultural 
nitrogen; but even here adequate figures are not available. The Federal 
Trade Commission undertook to analyze the 1913 consumption, with 
results given in the following table: 

Estimated Consumption of Nitrogen in Commercial Fertilizers for the 

Year 1913 



Materials 


Fertilizing 
substance 


Consumption 
(tons) 


Content 
(percent.) 


Units 
consumed 1 


Nitrate of soda 


Ammonia 
Ammonia 
Ammonia 
Ammonia 
Ammonia 
Ammonia 
Ammonia 
Ammonia 


260,000 

130,000 
15,488 

210,000 
18,351 
40,000 
50,000 

660,000 


18.0 
25.0 
18.0 
10.5 
14.5 
17.0 
11.0 
7.5 


4,680,000 


Sulphate of ammonia 

Cyanamid 

High-grade tankage 

Concentrated 


3,250,000 
278,784 

2,205,000 
266,090 


Dried blood 


680,000 


Dried fish scrap 

Cottonseed meal 


550,000 
950,000 


Total 








16,859,874 













1 A unit is 1 per cent, of a ton, or 20 pounds. 

This estimate, however, takes into account only the more strictly in- 
dustrial sources, leaving rural sanitation and the like out of the reckoning. 

Aside from the conversion of organic ammoniates, which is practiced 
on a large scale only in a few instances, notably that of the Paris system 
of sewage disposal, four general types of industrial operation figure more 
or less in the production of by-product ammonia. They include coal 
distillation, bone carbonization, oil-shale distillation, and blast-furnace 
operations. The American production, however, is all derived from the 
first two types. Both the others are active producers abroad, especially 
in Scotland, but neither of them has as yet obtained a foothold in this 
country. The American recovery in connection with bone carbonization 
is of minor consequence. Practically the whole supply comes from gas 
works and by-product coking operations. Figure 17, in the shaded area 
bearing the designation " ammonium sulphate production," shows the 
magnitude and trend of the production from year to year since 1900, 



436 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

The organic nitrogen recovered in all of the various by-product con- 
nections taken together probably constitutes 40 to 50 per cent, of the 
total supply. Coal product ammonia in this country adds another 12 
to 15 per cent. So over half of our supply is of by-product derivation. 
The domestic output is supplemented in the case of the organic form by 
considerable importations from South America, and, until interfered with 
by the war, small amounts of ammonium sulphate were imported annu- 
ally from Europe. Essentially, however, the by-product supply is of 
domestic origin. Despite its magnitude, it occupies an anomalous sort 
of position industrially. It is recovered incidentally for what it is worth, 
and sold for what it will bring. The cost of production is largely charged 
off against the major operations with which its recovery is associated, 
and the returns are credited in conformance, as a saving in the cost of 
the major operations. This is equally true whether the source be that 
of the domestic animal on the farm, a coke oven, or a packing house. 

The industrial output is built up as a sequence to industrial concen- 
tration. This is evidenced all down the line, notably in the output of 
coke-oven ammonia from the steel industry and in that of organic 
ammoniates from the meat-packing industry. It is this influence of 
co-ordinated industrial concentration, along with the call for the major 
operations, that controls the supply of by-product nitrogen; so the 
development and handling of the industrial output comes naturally to be 
largely in the hands of trade combinations. Thus, the coal-product 
ammonia situation is largely at the disposal of the Barrett Co., the tank- 
age and other animal-product ammoniates gather for disposal at the hands 
of the packing interests, and the nitrogenous fertilizers from cottonseed 
are for the most part prepared and marketed by interests subsidiary to 
the Cotton Oil Co. 

The manufacturing interests involved are concerned primarily in the 
manufacture of other than nitrogen products. The by-product nitrogen 
recovered has to compete for its market against what comes from the 
other two industrial classes of supply, and its price goes just low enough 
to enable it to do so. The limits set in the incidental character of the 
output leave no special incentive to carry the price competition further. 
Whatever additional latitude of advantage as to cost of production it 
possesses goes not to promoting a further reduction in the price of nitro- 
gen but to lowering costs with reference to the major theme of production. 
Gas-house ammonia, for instance, does not affect the nitrogen market so 
much as it does the cost of gas, and the organic ammoniates recovered 
in connection with meat packing have not lowered fertilizer costs so 
much as they have kept down the cost of meat to the consumer. Thus 
the by-product class of supply, though the leading one in the point of 
magnitude, and by far the cheapest to produce, has little to do with deter- 
mining the price of nitrogen. The selling price of by-product nitrogen is 



NITROGEN 437 

determined by the price the product from competing sources brings. In 
this country it is controlled by the price of Chile nitrate, and not, as 
commonly imputed, by the trade combinations that develop and handle 
the output. 

Fixation Compounds. — Nitrogen has five general habits of combination : 
with oxygen, giving rise to nitric acid and its retinue of nitrate salts; 
with hydrogen, giving ammonia and the ammonium salts; with carbon, 
to form cyanogen and the cyanides; with basic elements, yielding nitrides; 
and organically, in the form of organic ammoniates. Various projects 
have been advanced for turning these to account in the fixation of atmos- 
pheric nitrogen. For the most part they have met with little or no 
practical success, but there are exceptions to the rule of failure in all 
five directions. 

Direct Oxidation — Arc Fixation. — Nitrogen does not oxidize at all 
readily under any ordinary conditions, but its natural indisposition to 
combine with oxygen may be overcome by passing a mixture of the two 
gases through an electric arc. The atmosphere furnishes the nitrogen and 
oxygen ready mixed, so all that is needed in the way of raw materials is 
an abundant power supply. Arc fixation was developed in Norway, 
where the possibilities in the way of hydro-electric power give the best 
setting to be found anywhere in the world. Efforts to introduce it else- 
where have resulted unsatisfactorily, and arc fixation has made relatively 
little headway, as may be deduced from Table 66 and Figure 18. The 
reason is two-fold. So far, its use of power has proved uneconomical, 
and its product unsatisfactory. The former of these two objections de- 
pends for its force on the demand for power, but the latter is more deci- 
sive. The immediate end product is nitric acid, which is both difficult to 
transport and limited as to use. To be put in shape for agricultural use 
it must be neutralized in the form of a nitrate salt. Limestone is the 
only cheap neutralizing agent. This gives a salt, calcium nitrate, which 
absorbs moisture, cakes, and is thus unsuited to the American agricultural 
practice of machine drilling. An experimental plant near Seattle, Wash., 
aims to overcome this difficulty by turning out its arc product in the form 
of sodium nitrate, but the project is of no commercial significance as it 
stands. 

Ammonia Fixation. — Nitrogen is no more disposed to combine of its 
own accord with hydrogen to give ammonia than with oxygen to give 
nitric acid. In the case of the Haber process, the only synthetic ammo- 
nia process that has stood the test of industrial application, the native 
indisposition to combine is overcome by subjecting a properly propor- 
tioned mixture of the two gases to heat and pressure in the presence of a 
catalyzer. This process was instituted in Germany shortly before the 
outbreak of the war, and as shown in Figure 16 and Table 66 has developed 
steadily since then. Little seems to be known as to the efficiency of the 



438 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

German Haber practice. Apparently, careful manipulation is necessary 
to obtain results. This means a skilled attention, which is incompatible 
with mechanical volume production and is thus unsuited to American 
practice. What aims to be an adaptation to American conditions was 
worked out by the General Chemical Co., and a plant with a rated capac- 
ity of 60,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia per day was projected at 
Sheffield, Ala., at the instance of the Government. The plant was 
completed, but before it could be tuned up for actual production the war 
ended. 

Cyanide Fixation. — Nitrogen, in passing through a red-hot mixture 
of finely divided soda ash, coke, and iron, reacts with the sodium and 
carbon to give sodium cyanide. This principle of fixation is being ex- 
tensively experimented with, but has not been developed commercially, 
except in a small plant with a rated daily capacity of 10 tons of sodium 
cyanide at Saltville, Va. 

Cyanamid Fixation. — Hot calcium carbide will absorb nitrogen, form- 
ing a compound of calcium, carbon, and nitrogen, according to the formu- 
la Ca CN 2 , known as cyanamid. The cyanamid process, based on this 
reaction, has been extensively developed, far more so than any other of 
the various processes, as will be seen by referring to Figure 16 and Table 66. 
Offhand, it looks to be the most adaptable and consequently the most 
promising of the lot commercially. In this connection, however, it is 
interesting to examine the several charts of its growth in the warring 
countries given in Figure 16. In none of these is the showing indicative 
of a strong, healthy development. Worst of all is the case of Germany, 
with the contrast offered in the Haber and cyanamid charts. Until the 
war, cyanamid manufacture was unable to obtain a competitive foothold in 
the United States, although a small plant has been in operation at Niagara 
Falls in Canada for some years. The problem it has faced is similar 
to that already chronicled for arc fixation, in that it draws heavily on 
power in the preparation of the necessary carbide, and the cost of power 
in this country has been prohibitive. Under the stress of the wartime 
demand for nitrogen, however, the Government contracted for the erec- 
tion of three plants — one at Muscle Shoals, Ala., one near Toledo, Ohio, 
and one near Cincinnati, Ohio, with a total rated capacity amounting to 
220,000 tons of ammonium nitrate per year. The work on all three was 
well under way, but none of the plants had reached the producing stage 
when the signing of the armistice brought the nitrate activities of the 
War Department to an end. 

Nitride Fixation. — The only process of any prominence aiming to fix 
nitrogen in the nitride form is one developed by the Aluminum Company 
of America. This has for its working principle the fact that a mixture 
of alumina and carbon, highly heated, will absorb nitrogen by reacting 
to give aluminum nitride. The nitride when heated with caustic soda 



NITROGEN 439 

gives its end-product in the form of pure ammonia. The outstanding 
difficulty encountered in applying this process commercially seems to be 
that of providing a furnace capable of standing the temperature require' 
ments. At all events the process has not succeeded in making good 
industrially. 

Bacterial Fixation. — The artificial attempts at fixation have been di- 
rected almost wholly toward employing chemical principles. In view of 
the difficulties experienced and the uncertain value of the results as a 
whole, it is interesting and perhaps highly significant to reflect that after 
all, as indicated in Figure 15, inorganic chemical principles seemingly 
have little to do with developing the natural supply, probably because 
of the activities of nitrifying bacteria. Little attention has been given 
to the possibilities in this direction. This is only natural so far as com- 
mercially actuated research is concerned, since it does not lead in the 
definite direction of patent rights; but the failure to institute an adequate 
investigation governmentally can be attributed only to lack of compre- 
hension with reference to the scope of the nitrogen issue as brought out 
under "General Aspects of Control" on pages 425 to 433. The sub- 
ject has received just enough attention to show that bacterial fixation 
represents a tremendous field of grossly neglected possibilities. 

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN PRACTICE 

The whole matter of fixation must be regarded as in process of develop- 
ment. True, it was instituted some fifteen or twenty years ago and has 
grown to represent the largest producing source of chemical nitrogen, with 
operations in practically all the important industrial countries in the world 
and with responsible financial backing. But no one can examine the 
charts in Figure 16 without recognizing the premature, mushroom quality 
of the upgrowth, induced primarily in response to the political conditions 
leading to and through the war. This is especially true for the American 
situation. When the war broke out, fixation here was confessedly still 
in the dependent stage of its development, unable in every effort it had 
made to stand alone industrially. In the main, the developments that 
have transpired subsequently have followed along pre-existing lines. In 
so far as they have done so, little actual economic significance is to be 
attached to them. For the rest, the new developments, all that can be 
said at this juncture is that they are disappointingly meager. 

Just one wartime achievement, the oxidation of ammonia, stands out 
as affording a worth that is unmistakably clear. The nitrogen situation, 
it will be recalled, has two aspects, the military and the agricultural. The 
military focus is on nitric acid, and the readiest means of insuring a 
supply ; the agricultural focus is on ammonium compounds or their equiva- 
lent in neutral nitrogen salts and the most economical means of supply. 



440 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Here, then, is a parting of the ways to expediency, and it is at this junc- 
ture that with military influences to the fore the nitrogen developments 
of the past few years were led off on an uneconomical tangent of military 
control. The Bureau of Mines, however, taking up the work of others, 
has perfected a simple, effective means for oxidizing ammonia to nitric 
acid. This, beyond question, is the most important contribution of the 
day. Its significance may perhaps best be brought out graphically in 
the accompanying sketch. 

Field of 

Agricultural 

Operations, always 

under Cultivation 



Field of 
Military Operations, 




\ 



under Cultivation 
during Wartime 



\ during wartirr 
^Intervals only 

Ammonia oxidation, it will be observed from the foregoing sketch, 
gives a means of supplying the military requirement from the direct line 
of agricultural efficiency. From the strictly military viewpoint, it has 
the objection of being a roundabout procedure. The dotted line of direct 
military procedure, however, has no peace-time function, and conse- 
quently cannot be maintained in time of peace in trim for war, but must 
instead be built up expressly to meet wartime exigencies. We have had 
an illustration of what this means in the way of time and money, and this 
one ought to suffice. The agricultural channel, once built up on a basis 
of economic efficiency, is open at all times. At the most, all that is 
required is to keep an eye to the emergency needs in the way of oxidation 
equipment, a relatively simple matter. Thus, instead of the precarious 
procedure of trusting to luck which characterized our pre-war attitude 
toward nitrogen on the one hand, or of attempting the impossible in the 
way of maintaining a military program of industrial procedure in time 
of peace on the other, all that is needed is a constructive program de- 
voted expressly to the interests of economic efficiency. 

THE NITROGEN OUTLOOK 

There is no import duty on nitrogen, nor is there likely to be any, for 
nitrogen is an important cog in the mechanism of food supply, and the 
peacetime emphasis, reversing the wartime order, is primarily on cheap- 
ness and only secondarily on the point of origin. Accordingly, looking 
ahead, the American market conditions, once world trade is fully restored, 
are due to reflect the world conditions. As indicated in Figure 18, the 



NITROGEN 441 

sudden ending of the war, with its calling off of the military requirement 
which had been building up steadily since even before the outbreak of 
hostilities in 1914, left the world with a producing capacity 30 to 40 per 
cent, above normal. To what extent this apparent overproduction, 
amounting to some half million tons of nitrogen, will prove real is im- 
possible to foretell; not all of it certainly, for under the stimulus of a 
food shortage the curve of normal consumption will doubtless bend up- 
ward. On the other hand, however, there is the producing capacity of 
the plants not yet in operation to be taken into consideration. Whatever 
may be the capacity of agriculture to absorb from the surplus, it cannot 
be expected to take up the full amount immediately or without special 
inducement. The inference follows that price and production will 
come down, to stimulate and co-ordinate with the increase in demand. 
Where the meeting point will be between the upcurve of demand and the 
downcurve of production it is impossible to predict. It is of interest, 
however, to figure in review on how the three types of industrial source, 
the natural, the by-product, and the fixation types, are equipped for the 
very evident strife of competition implied in the situation. 

With the development of fixation, there have been a lot of unfounded 
statements to the effect that the day of Chile nitrate is passing. When- 
ever a synthetic development comes to the fore, a peculiar fallacy of 
reasoning is indulged in which ignores the fact of inherent natural worth, 
disregards the inescapable cost of its duplication, and regards the synthetic 
achievement as giving open sesame to the natural treasure. By way of 
substantiation in the case of nitrogen, the cost of producing Chile nitrate 
is high, amounting to around 130 per ton. This, however, is largely 
contributed to by the unsystematized crudity of the operations, by the 
high export tax, and by overcapitalization. But these, it will be ob- 
served, are variable factors, susceptible of indefinite modification in 
keeping with the need. Chile nitrate has never made any pretense of 
competing against by-product nitrogen, with its advantages in the way of 
low incidental producing costs and proximity to the market. The 
discrepancy between the by-product supply and the total demand for 
nitrogen has all along comprised the field of opportunity opening to 
Chile nitrate. In this its only noteworthy competitor is the fixation 
industry. 

The fixation sources are impossible of analysis on a definite basis of 
cost. Too many variable factors and uncertainties are involved. Re- 
peated attempts have been made, but all they have served to bring out is 
that under certain conditions, as for instance of power supply, and for 
certain express purposes, one form of project has an apparent margin of 
advantage over another, and vice versa for other conditions; but that 
at best the cost of production, if not actually prohibitive, is dangerously 
close to the normal pre-war price of fixed nitrogen. Back of it all is the 



442 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

fact that fixation has to deal with the problem of overcoming the native 
chemical inertia of nitrogen, and the problem has not yet been solved at 
all convincingly. Always the solution advanced has called for some 
special measure of relief from industrial competition, whether natural, 
as in the case of the Scandinavian power supply, or political, as in the 
case of the American and German projects. 

Fixation has been widely heralded of recent years as due not only to 
emancipate the world from its dependence^. upon the Chilean source, 
but to reduce materially the cost of nitrogenous fertilizer, hence the 
cost of food production, to the marked betterment of living conditions as 
well. In its promise of political and economic betterment in one, it 
has claimed the attention of all. However, the claim of special economic 
advantage coming from an industry barely, if at all, able to meet condi- 
tions even as they are, has been overdrawn. 

This does not aim to imply that there is nothing but failure ahead 
for fixation in the test of competition. It has its possibilities of develop- 
ment into something commercially and economically as well as politically 
worth while, but the existing hothouse order of upgrowth is unquestion- 
ably due for a lot of training down, and much that is worthless is as 
certainly due to go. The American developments have a particularly 
inauspicious economic setting in the prevailing scale of costs. The 
only saving alternative for them would seem to be in one form or another 
of federal provision for their continued support on some such basis as 
that on which they were projected, and this is unlikely, for there is no 
apparent reason. True, lowered nitrogen costs tend to make for a 
lowering in the cost of foodstuffs, but so, for that matter, would a lowering 
in the cost of agricultural implements, and any arguments that apply in 
the case of nitrogen apply as equally for potash, for phosphate, for 
agricultural implements, for coal — in fact for industry in general. 

With reference to by-product nitrogen the situation is very different. 
In general, the by-product sources are of an order such that they were 
not materially affected one way or the other by the war, and conse- 
quently are not due to be materially affected in the process of readjust- 
ment, except in the case of coke-oven ammonia, where the temporary 
slump in the steel industry will result in a temporary slump of probably 
15 to 20 per cent, from the 1918 output. Of special significance in con- 
nection with what lies on beyond for the by-production of nitrogen is 
its relationship to the progress of industrial co-ordination. The whole 
current trend of industrialism, as represented in integration, volume pro- 
duction, and the like, is actuated in the interests of co-ordination and the 
overcoming of lost motion; and nitrogen comes in for an important 
share in these developments. 

With reference to the organic group of compounds, the outlook for 
the future is as uncertain as are the actual conditions of today. The 



NITROGEN 443 

centralized development of meat packing, of animal-rendering establish- 
ments, and of cotton ginning gave rise in their time to highly important 
recoveries of nitrogenous waste; but with the forward progress of develop- 
ments this usage in turn is giving way to a more advanced order. Cotton- 
seed as a fertilizer is giving place to a cottonseed-products industry; 
tankage as a fertilizer is giving place to the artificial compounding of 
animal food; horses, an important contributor of agricultural nitrogen in 
times past, are yielding much of their place in the sun to the automotive 
engine. Meanwhile, with the factor of dilution to be overcome, our 
sewage disposal is employed to pollute streams and destroy the fish 
supply instead of being put to useful ends. So it goes. Developments 
are on foot that lead in both directions, and there is no telling how the 
balance is due to shift. Probably the best guess is that relatively at 
least it will be downward rather than upward. 

The outlook for by-product ammonia is more definite. Ammonia 
is the end point of material refinement ; so here the nitrogen developments 
hold all they get, rather than go on to lose out again in a further refine- 
ment of usage, as in the case of the organic group. The output has in- 
creased consistently and rapidly, owing to the transition from beehive to 
by-product coking operations, to the progress of centralization and 
co-ordination; in other words, with reference to coke manufacture. 
Even now, less than half of the coal coked is treated in the retort oven; 
but the beehive oven is out of the fine of progress and is due to be entirely 
displaced. Also, the industry is still expanding as the process of transi- 
tion, with its separate potentiality for doubling the present output of 
coal-product ammonia, goes forward. 

So far, the recovery of by-products in connection with the use of coal 
has been confined in the one direction of coke making, along with the 
analogous procedure of gas manufacture. But the development which 
has thus started in the coke industry will not stop there. The loss of 
motion resulting from lack of co-ordination in the use of coal is just as 
great in other directions as in that of coke making, and the advantages 
of integral usage may confidently be expected to assert themselves. 
Already projects of the kind are coming under serious contemplation in 
proposals such as those for furnishing gas to cities, for employing by- 
product operations located at the mine in support of the waning natural- 
gas supply, and for integrated heat, light, and power projects operating 
on coal with by-product recovery. Meanwhile, the motor-fuel situation 
is suggestive of interesting developments ahead. There is every reason 
to believe that the petroleum resources can not continue to meet the 
growing demand, in fact, that the occasion for support is already at hand. 
Whatever the nature of these supporting developments, whether they 
take the form of a shale-oil industry or what, it seems certain they will 
usher in an important source of by-product nitrogen 



444 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Figure 17 summarizes the American situation with reference to 
chemical nitrogen, as does Figure 18 in less detail that for the world. 
Organic nitrogen is omitted, partly because of the lack of information, 
partly because the issues more directly involved in the situation as it 
stands are those of chemical nitrogen. 

SUMMARY 

Nitrogen, itself, is an inert gas of no particular use, but nitrogenous 
compounds are necessary to agriculture, to refrigeration, to munitions 
manufacture, and to the applications of chemistry in general. In 
the native gaseous state, it makes up about four-fifths of the atmos- 
phere, and combined it occurs as nitrate minerals, as organic compounds, 
and in carboniferous deposits. Atmospheric nitrogen is of use only after 
it has been artifically compounded or fixed, a proposition which the 
natural inertness of nitrogen renders difficult and expensive. The only 
mineral deposits of consequence are those comprising the nitrate fields 
of northern Chile. The organic resources include all manner of animal 
and vegetable refuse. Coal-tar ammonia from retort-coke and gas manu- 
facture, along with some shale-oil ammonia, makes up practically the 
whole supply derived from the carboniferous sources. This range of 
associations, including animal, vegetable, mineral, and atmospheric 
sources, transgresses all established rules of resource occurrence, and 
consequently all regularly constituted research. As a result the nitrogen 
resources and their needs for attention have never been comprehensively 
investigated. This became strikingly apparent when the war, threaten- 
ing swift disaster in the guise of a nitrogen shortage, showed us up to be 
quite devoid of any systematic nitrogen program and precipitated an 
hysterical effort to devise a makeshift one instead. The atmosphere 
was found to provide the only independent source of supply available 
on an emergency rating; so, following the lead of the European countries, 
several plants for the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen were projected 
governmen tally. 

Industrially, the nitrogen sources may be classified as natural, by- 
product, and fixation. The natural supply is almost wholly in the form 
of sodium nitrate from the Chile nitrate deposits. These are controlled 
and operated by British, Chilean, German, and American capital. The 
American imports are largely handled by three companies, whose system 
of control is effected through the medium of shipping and warehouse 
facilities. 

The by-product sources include nearly all of the organic nitrogen used, 
and the nitrogen from coal and oil shale as well. The supply is governed 
as to magnitude by the progress of industrial co-ordination through the 
medium of centralization in the preparing of animal, vegetable, and coal 



NITROGEN 445 

products. Thus the development and marketing of the by-product sup- 
ply tends naturally to gather to industrial combinations. These, how- 
ever, are natural developments, not developments artificially created in 
the interest of price control. The price of by-product nitrogen is con- 
trolled not by trade combinations, but by the price of the product from 
other sources, which is to say, by the price of Chile nitrate. Beyond that, 
the advantages accruing in the way of low-producing costs do not go 
wholly to commercial profit but to the saving of costs with reference to 
the major production, as for instance in the case of gas-works ammonia, 
which makes its chief contribution toward lowering the price of gas to the 
consumer. The rapid development of fixation is attributable largely to 
political influences, activated by conditions leading to and through the 
war. There are a number of projects for fixing nitrogen, but only three 
have any genuine measure of industrial achievement to their credit, arc 
fixation in Norway, Haber synthetic ammonia fixation in Germany, and 
cyanamid fixation in a number of places. Three of the four large 
American plants are of the last-named order; the other is a synthetic 
ammonia proposition. All four were contracted for by the Government, 
and so far as fixation can be said to have gained an industrial foothold 
in the United States it is wholly in response to the dictates of political 
control. 

Probably rather less than half of the nitrogen consumed is organi- 
cally associated, and rather more than half of it chemically combined. 
Practically all of the organic nitrogen and around one-fourth of the chem- 
ical nitrogen is of domestic by-product derivation. So far, the balance 
has been supplied from Chile nitrate, supplemented by small imports of 
guano, animal refuse, by-product ammonia, and cyanamid from abroad. 

There is no apparent likelihood of this adjustment being materially 
affected as an immediate outcome of developments with reference to 
fixation. These have shown themselves to be of the utmost political 
significance as affording an unlimited, independent source of nitrogen 
supply. Their genuine economic significance at the present stage of 
enforced expansion, however, is questionable. In this country, especi- 
ally, the scale of costs gives an unpromising setting. The by-product 
sources growing out of centralized industrial co-ordination are in line with 
the trend of modern industrialism and may be looked to as assuring a 
steady increase in yield, especially if the process of industrial evolution 
in the direction of co-ordinated economic efficiency is adequately culti- 
vated instead of being interfered with. In this, same connection the 
most significant accomplishment recorded for nitrogen, lies in the working 
out of a means for the oxidation of by-product ammonia, thus rendering 
the growing by-product supply available for the full range of nitrogen 
uses. 

With reference to the economic and political aspects of the outlook 



446 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

ahead, all else is obscured and lost to view in the pressing need for a con- 
structive program worked out on a comprehensive basis, in keeping with 
the comprehensiveness of the resources themselves, with which to sur> 
plant the uneconomical makeshift program brought into being by the 
war. The program called for is one calculated to bring out, and bring 
out co-ordinately, the best there is in bacterial as well as chemical fixa- 
tion, in the industrial by-product sources of organic and chemical nitro- 
gen, and in the province of sanitation. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 
PYRITE AND SULPHUR 

By A. G. White 
USES OF PYRITE AND SULPHUR 

Pyrite and sulphur are closely related in their most essential uses, 
and one material can in many cases be substituted for the other. The 
largest and most important use of these minerals is in the manufacture of 
sulphuric acid, which is an essential material required for a very wide 
variety of purposes, including the production of acid phosphate for fertil- 
izer, the manufacture of modern high-power explosives, the refining of 
petroleum, pickling of iron and steel, and for a vast number of chemical 
industries. The competition between pyrite and sulphur for this purpose 
has gone through several stages. With the large-scale development of 
Italian deposits sulphur was largely used for acid manufacture. As the 
prices of sulphur were increased it became cheaper to use pyrite, which 
in many localities then displaced sulphur, for this purpose. With the 
rapid expansion of the American production, and particularly with the 
tremendous increase in the capacity of sulphuric acid plants for war pur- 
poses, sulphur has again been very largely used for the manufacture of 
acid. The prospects since the close of the war are that, due to the tre- 
mendous capacity of the sulphur mines of the United States, sulphur may 
continue to compete with pyrite in this use. 

Probably the second most important use of these materials is in the 
manufacture of sulphite wood pulp. In Europe pyrite is largely used for 
this purpose, while in the United States and Canada sulphur is the prin- 
cipal material used. For every ton of sulphite pulp manufactured, under 
the best practice, about 250 pounds of sulphur is required. In the United 
States and Canada about 175,000 tons of sulphur is used annually for 
this purpose, representing about 50 per cent, of the total sulphur con- 
sumption of these countries. There are also a number of other important 
purposes where sulphur is used rather than pyrite, the most important 
of which are in the manufacture of agricultural sprays and insecticides, 
and in the hardening of rubber. Sulphur is a primary ingredient of black 
powder, and considerable quantities are still used for that purpose. 
While most of the explosives used in modern warfare require the use of 
sulphuric acid in their manufacture, they do not use sulphur in its ele- 
mental form. There are many other minor chemical uses. 

447 



448 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Substitutes for Sulphur and Pyrite. — Because of the large deposits 
of sulphur now available, and of the extent and wide distribution of pyrite 
deposits, and of the cheapness of both these materials, there are no ade- 
quate commercial substitutes for them. The increase of by-product 
acid, from the copper and zinc smelters and possibly the nickel smelters 
of Sudbury, might be considered as the most important factors in replac- 
ing pyrite and sulphur. As a general thing, the factors of cost and 
transportation are the governing ones rather than any present or probable 
scarcity of materials. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PYRITE 

While pyrite is a very widely distributed mineral, there are relatively 
few deposits which are of sufficient importance to enter into the world's 
commerce. This is generally due to the relatively small value of its sul- 
phur content per ton, usually from 40 to 45 per cent, of recoverable 
sulphur; which means that it takes almost 2^ tons of pyrite to be 
equivalent to the ton of sulphur which competes with it for many uses. 
Consequently pyrite seldom moves far, unless it is so situated as to take 
advantage of cheap ballast rates where little other freight is available for 
ships, or unless it carries important copper or gold values, which can 
be recovered after the sulphur content has been utilized. Many known 
deposits, such as those in Mexico and the Western United States, remain 
undeveloped because of their distance from market. In countries such as 
Russia, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Japan, and the Eastern United 
States production is absorbed by the local market. Spain and Portugal, 
the most important source of world supply, are favorably located to ship to 
near-by European countries or to secure cheap ballast rates to the United 
States, and in addition much of the ore carries several per cent, of 
copper. 

Norway is second in export, with a high-grade pyrite carrying copper 
values, which is shipped to Sweden or across the Baltic to near-by coun- 
tries. Canada ships considerable pyrite to the near-by markets of the 
United States, the Quebec product having copper values, while the 
product of Ontario takes advantage of boat shipments on the Great 
Lakes. 

Spain and Portugal. — The deposits of Spain and Portugal are the 
largest and most important in the world, furnishing approximately two- 
thirds of the world supply. The district is essentially a unit, and the 
principal deposits occur in a zone extending from Rio Tinto, Spain, to 
San Domingo, Portugal. The combined annual production of iron and 
copper pyrites for the two countries is normally almost 4 million metric 
tons, 90 per cent, of which is furnished by Spain and 10 per cent, by 
Portugal. About two-thirds of the total output carries copper values, 



PYRITE AND SULPHUR 449 

which may be recovered before the pyrite is roasted for its sulphur value 
or after. When copper is to be recovered at the mine the ore is leached 
by spreading it out in beds exposed to the weather and frequently stirring 
it and wetting it down. The copper goes into solution and is precipitated 
on scrap iron, forming cement copper. The process takes about 3 years 
and the pyrite residue is shipped as washed ore. The ore is compact and 
finely crystalline and carries from 48 to 51 per cent, sulphur. Conserva- 
tive estimates of ore reserves for the district give it from 300 to 400 
million tons, or enough to last for one hundred years at the present 
rate of production. Consequently this district is destined to long re- 
main the chief pyrite-producing center of the world. 

The Rio Tinto Co. is the principal producer, contributing about one- 
third of the total output of the whole district (Spain-Portugal). It is 
owned by British and French capital. Mining is largely by open-pit 
methods, and the company employs 25,000 men. The ore carries about 
2 per cent, copper, making this company the largest European producer of 
that metal. The reserves are estimated as 250 to 300 million tons, repre- 
senting the major part of the whole district. The Rio Tinto Co. furnishes 
about 60 per cent, of the 1,000,000 tons of Spanish pyrite normally 
imported by the United States. 

The second principal producer is the Tharsis Sulphur and Copper 
Mines (British) , with about one-eighth of the total production. British 
capital is predominant in the district as a whole, with the balance French 
and Spanish. Huelva, Spain, is the principal point of export, located 
from 30 to 40 miles from the mines. Under normal conditions the pyrite 
moves at cheap ballast rates, and has been sold at from $6 to $7 per 
long ton (12 to 16 cents per unit of sulphur), delivered in United States 
ports. Normally this Spain-Portugal district exported one-quarter of 
its output to the United States, one-eighth to England, one-eighth to 
Holland, one-eighth to Germany, and most of the balance to France and 
Belgium. 

Norway and Sweden. — Norway produces from 400 to 500 thousand 
tons of pyrite per year (about 8 per cent, of the world's total), and her out- 
put is steadily increasing. The ore usually carries from 1 to 3 per cent, 
copper and from 42 to 49 per cent, sulphur; and is free from arsenic. 
Seven-eighths of the output is exported to Sweden, Germany, England 
and Russia. When Sweden's import of sulphur (about 40,000 tons) was 
cut off during the war, she changed the equipment of her cellulose plants 
to burn pyrite instead of sulphur and took about one-half of the Norwe- 
gian output, since her own production of pyrite (about 30,000 tons) was 
of minor importance. 

The Norwegian deposits are widely distributed from south of Bergen 
to the extreme northern end of the peninsula. The ore is generally 
massive cupriferous pyrite, occurring in flat lenses in chlorite schists in 

29 



450 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

areas of regional metamorphism. About 250,000 tons comes from the 
Trondhjem district, where the Lokken mines of the Orkla Mine Co. are 
the largest producers. 

The northern district is second in importance, with about 150,000 
tons annual production, chiefly from the Sulitjelma mine at the Swedish 
frontier, near the Polar Circle. In the eastern district the Fodal Copper 
& Sulphur Co. has a production of from 75,000 to 100,000 tons. 
Norway has sufficient known reserves to last for thirty years at the pres- 
ent rate of production and probably for much longer. The largest 
reserves are in the Trondhjem district. Sweden is also reported to have 
large reserves, although there has been little development so far. 

The commercial control of the mines is principally English and Nor- 
wegian. It was reported that mines with large reserves near Narvik 
were owned by German interests, but were purchased by Swedish interests 
during the war. 

France. — For many years France has produced about 300,000 tons of 
pyrite per annum, or about 5 per cent, of the world output. The prin- 
cipal deposits are at Sain-Bel, near Lyons, in the Department of Rhone. 
The product is high in sulphur. The known reserves are probably from 
ten to twelve million tons. The output is used for home consumption, 
and in the past was supplemented by the import of Spanish pyrite, and 
Sicilian and United States sulphur. 

Italy. — In addition to her large sulphur production Italy has produced 
a considerable quantity of pyrite, which has been used locally in the 
manufacture of sulphuric acid. Pyrite production was about 300,000 
tons before the war and increased to 400,000 tons in 1916, so that Italy 
produces about 6 per cent, of the world output. The pyrite contains 
about 45 per cent, of sulphur and a small part of it carries copper values. 
The principal production comes from a district near Florence, although a 
number of smaller mines are widely scattered. 

Russia. — Russia has large pyrite deposits located in a belt parallel 
to the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains. The Kyshtim and Sissert 
districts furnish the principal output. Reports indicate a good grade of 
pyrite with high sulphur content. The production has been in the neigh- 
borhood of 150,000 tons, or about 2 per cent, of the world total. Pro- 
duction had been steadily increasing up to the time of Russia's economic 
collapse, but has been limited, due to the remote location of the deposits 
from the chief centres of consumption at Petrograd, Moscow, and Odessa. 
It is to be expected that Russia, after she regains her balance, will con- 
tinue to import pyrite to a considerable extent, as she has done in the 
past. 

Germany, Austria and Hungary. — The pre-war German production 
was from 200,000 to 250,000 tons of pyrite per annum, or about 4 per cent, 
of the world output. About two-thirds of the output comes from 



PYRITE AND SULPHUR 451 

deposits near Meggen. The pyrite is estimated to run about 43 per cent, 
sulphur. It is reported that the pyrite output was largely increased 
during the.war, as Germany had been importing from 800,000 to 1,000,000 
tons of pyrite. She continued to import some Norwegian pyrite, which 
is especially desirable because of its recoverable copper content. Ger- 
many secures a considerable amount of sulphuric acid as a by-product 
from zinc smelters, which helped to make up the deficiency in her sul- 
phur resources. 

Hungary normally produces about 100,000 tons of pyrite per annum, 
chiefly from the deposits of Schemnitz. 

Cyprus. — An important deposit of cupriferous pyrite is under develop- 
ment in an old copper-mining region on the northwest coast of Cyprus. 
Several million tons of ore are reported, containing a high sulphur con- 
tent and high copper values. It is being developed on a large scale by 
the Cyprus Mines Corporation, representing United States capital, and 
may be expected to become an important factor in pyrite export. 

The United States. — The pre-war production of the United States was 
about 350,000 long tons, or 6 per cent, of the world's production, com- 
pared to an import of about 1,000,000 tons. About 40 per cent, of the 
total was produced in Virginia and largely sold for use in acid-phosphate 
plants from Maryland to Georgia; about 25 per cent, was produced in 
California and used for local acid manufacture in the vicinity of San 
Francisco; about 15 per cent, was produced in New York State; and the 
balance was scattered, coming as a by-product from coal mines in Ohio, 
Illinois, and Indiana, and from the zinc-mining region of southern Wis- 
consin. During the war, production was increased by about 50 per cent., 
but with no discoveries which promise to greatly increase the permanent 
production of the country. On the whole the deposits are not of very 
high quality, averaging about 40 per cent, sulphur content. Very large 
reserves of pyrrhotite are located in western Virginia and eastern Ten- 
nessee, but have not been very extensively utilized. Large reserves of 
pyrite exist in Colorado, Arizona, Utah and other western states, but are 
too far from the acid plants located in the East and South to compete. 
On the whole, the scanty development of pyrite in the United States is 
due to the competition of high-grade Spanish pyrite coming in to the 
Atlantic ports at cheap ballast rates; to the import of Canadian pyrite 
either to near-by points in New England or to the Great Lakes ports; 
to the large production of cheap sulphur from Louisiana and Texas, 
which has monopolized the sulphite pulp trade; and to the recovery of 
by-product acid from copper and zinc smelters. The great increase in 
the production of sulphur during and since the war is very likely still 
further to curtail the market for pyrite. The production of pyrite has been 
in the hands of American companies, several of the larger operations 
being controlled by concerns either in the acid or fertilizer business. 



452 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Canada. — The production of pyrite in Canada has increased rapidly, 
particularly during the war, to about 300,000 tons. This is due to an 
increased export to the United States, principally to sulphuric-acid plants. 
The principal producing areas in Canada are: (1) The district in Quebec, 
not far north of the Vermont border, where there are two operating 
mines and a number of promising prospects. There are large ore reserves 
and the ore carries considerable copper. The principal mines are con- 
trolled by American capital. (2) The Goudreau district, located some 40 
miles north of Sault Ste. Marie, has large ore reserves, but of rather low 
grade. Thus far an American company is the principal producer. (3) 
The North Pine district near Graham, Ontario, and a considerable dis- 
tance west of Port Arthur, has been a large producer of good-grade pyrite. 
The principal producer was a subsidiary company of the General 
Chemical Co. 

There is a large reserve of pyrrhotite, estimated at about 50,000,000 
tons, much of which will average over 25 per cent, sulphur, in connection 
with the Sudbury nickel deposits. At present it is not commercially 
important. There are considerable deposits of pyrites in various parts 
of British Columbia, but these are unimportant commercially because of 
their distance from any available market. The larger part of the Cana- 
dian product is controlled by American interests, chiefly the American 
Chemical Co., whose headquarters are in New York City. A large 
part of the Canadian output is imported to the United States through 
Chicago, Cleveland, and Buffalo; and by rail through Vermont, Boston 
and to New York City. 

Cuba. — An important pyrite property is being developed about 
twenty miles from Cienfuegos, Province of Santa Clara, Cuba. It is 
reported as containing several million tons of good-grade ore, which will 
average at least 40 per cent, sulphur and may contain a recoverable 
copper content. The property is being developed by United States 
capital, interests connected with the Davison Chemical Corporation, of 
Baltimore, Md., who are one of the largest producers of sulphuric acid 
on the Atlantic Coast. This property promises to be an important 
near-by source of pyrite for the United States. 

Mexico. — Important pyrite deposits are known to exist in Mexico, 
but they are of no present commercial importance because of inacces- 
sibility and high freight rates, and unsettled political conditions. A large 
deposit is reported about 30 miles inland in the State of Guerrero, con- 
taining several million tons of high-grade pyrite of approximately 48 
per cent, sulphur content and free from arsenic. 

There is no prospect that Mexico will be of any immediate importance 
in the world pyrite situation. 

Japan. — Japan has a small pyrite production of from 75,000 to 100,000 
tons per year, or about l}^ per cent, of the world output. Much of it 



- - 



PYRITE AND SULPHUR 453 

carries copper values. The production comes from several scattered 
localities. The state has reserved the ownership of the original mineral 
rights, and the operators to whom they have been leased appear to be 
entirely Japanese. Japan consumes her pyrite for local purposes, and 
exports most of her sulphur. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF SULPHUR 

Italy and Sicily. — Italy had practically a monopoly of the world's 
sulphur supply until 1904, when large-scale production began in the 
United States. The importance of sulphur as a world mineral began 
with the use of gunpowder in the fourteenth century. Considerable 
export trade was early developed and has been of increasing importance 
since 1830. Ninety per cent, of the Italian production has come from 
the Island of Sicily. 

The sulphur-bearing district of Sicily is a central belt running across 
the island, extending about 100 miles east and west and 50 miles north 
and south. The richer deposits are scattered as irregular lenses or basin- 
like bodies, in this extensive area. The deposits of commercial value 
are of sedimentary type, occurring as stratified beds or sheets in limestone, 
associated with gypsum and bituminous marl. There are generally 
three or four sulphur-bearing layers, separated by a few feet of barren 
rock. The average thickness of the sulphur beds is from 10 to 15 feet, 
although in a few places they run as high as several hundred feet. The 
sulphur occurs as incrustations, pockets, or thin bands intimately asso- 
ciated with the limestone. The average sulphur content of the ore 
mined is from 20 to 25 per cent., with a range from 8 to 50 per cent.; 
and in a few places it reaches up to 90 per cent. Estimates as to the 
reserves of ore vary greatly, but seem to indicate that there is from 
40 to 60 million tons of ore still unmined, which will average about 23 
per cent, of sulphur content. 

Mining has been mostly by hand and the ore brought out on the 
backs of men. A few mines had modern hoisting machinery and trams. 
The shortage of labor during the war has increased the introduction of 
modern appliances in some of the newer mines. With increasing depth 
the cost of mining has increased to the point where American sulphur 
can compete in European markets. 

The methods of extracting the sulphur from the ore have also been 
extremely crude and wasteful, but in the last few years better types of 
ovens have been installed, giving a much higher recovery through im- 
proved distillation and the use of superheated steam for melting the 
sulphur. 

The sulphur industry of Sicily furnishes a notable example of an 
attempted commercial control which developed into a governmental 



454 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

control of the industry. The recent history of the industry falls into 
three periods. The first extends from 1875 to 1895 and is characterized 
by a rapid increase in production, from 200,000 to 400,000 tons a year, 
with a corresponding decrease in selling price from $25 a ton to as low as 
SI 2 a ton. It was a period of overproduction, due to the ease with which 
shallow mining could be carried on and to the abundant supply of cheap 
labor available. These conditions resulted in the development of a 
great number of small mines, whose competition reduced prices. The 
second period, from 1896 to 1906, begins with the formation of the Anglo- 
Sicilian Sulphur Co., financed by English capital, which entered into 
a five-year agreement with the principal producers, which was later 
extended for an additional five years. It was primarily a marketing 
organization, formed by the union of Italian and English interests to 
control production, stabilize the industry, and maintain prices. It 
eventually controlled from 75 to 85 per cent, of the industry. All sul- 
phur was purchased at about $16 per ton f.o.b. ship and the selling price 
remained practically stable during the ten-year period, at an average 
of $18 to $19 per ton. In spite of efforts to restrict production, the 
annual output reached 550,000 tons during most of this period. At the 
same time the higher prices maintained for sulphur had stimulated the 
use of pyrite as a substitute. In order to maintain prices under these 
conditions the excess production had to be purchased and stored, so that 
in 1906 a stock of over 500,000 tons of sulphur had been accumulated in 
Sicily. Toward the end of this period large-scale production began in 
the United States (1904). In 1903 the United States produced less than 
10,000 tons of sulphur and was Italy's best customer, buying over 170,000 
tons in that year. Within three years the United States was producing 
more than enough to supply its own needs and was accumulating a large 
reserve stock. The sudden loss of the American market and the threat 
of competition in other markets brought on a crisis in the Sicilian in- 
dustry, which was intensified by the large number (30,000) of people 
employed in the industry. At the termination of the agreement with the 
Anglo-Sicilian company (July 31, 1906) steps were taken by the Italian 
government to control the situation. The third period, from 1906 to 
the present, is one of government intervention and control of the industry. 
All the producers were compelled to join a company called the "Con- 
sorzia Obbligatoria per l'lndustria Solfiefera Siciliana," organized under a 
law passed in the Italian Parliament. The organization was managed 
by a commission appointed by the government, and had complete con- 
trol over exports and prices. All sulphur had to be sold at fixed price 
to this organization. A minimum interest was guaranteed on the 
capital invested; local freight rates on sulphur for export were reduced; 
sulphur stocks accumulated by the Anglo-Sicilian company were taken 
over; and a campaign of price-cutting was started in the American market, 



PYRITE AND SULPHUR 455 

which resulted in a decrease of several dollars a ton in the selling price of 
sulphur. A market agreement was soon reached and prices recovered. 
A number of the smaller mines closed down and a law was passed con- 
trolling and restricting the granting of new concessions. Production 
declined to 350,000 tons in 1913. At the opening of the war the principal 
United States producer was preparing to enter into more active competi- 
tion with Italian sulphur, particularly in the French markets. As a 
result of the war, Italian production dropped to only 180,000 tons in 1917, 
largely due to labor shortage; about half of the surplus stocks were used 
up, leaving only 160,000 tons on hand at the end of 1917; and prices 
increased so that refined sulphur sold at about $80 per ton and inferior 
grades at $55 per ton, f .o.b. Sicilian ports. The increasing cost of produc- 
ing sulphur, due to deeper mining and increased labor costs, will make it 
difficult to compete in the European markets with the greatly expanded 
production of the cheaper American article. 

Sulphur has been produced in several districts in the Italian peninsula, 
particularly Romagna, Marches, Campania and Calabria. The yield 
from these districts has been decreasing in recent years and has gen- 
erally been only from 25,000 to 30,000 tons. The sulphur content of the 
ores ranges from 20 to 30 per cent. The deposits are of limited extent 
and are being mined at greater depths. The production has been largely 
used for local agricultural purposes, in preparations for use against vine 
diseases. 

The United States. — Until 1904, the production of sulphur in the 
United States was considerably less than 10,000 tons per year and the bulk 
of our requirements had to be met by import from Sicily. From 1904 
to 1914 the United States produced enough for its own use and at the 
end of tins period was supplying Canada, had begun to actively enter the 
French and German market, and in addition had accumulated a reserve 
stock, in the hands of the producers, of approximately one million long 
tons. Figures recently made public in connection with litigation over 
patent rights show that half of this stock was accumulated in a single 
year, 1912, when production reached 790,000 long tons, of which only 
300,000 tons was marketed and- the balance of 490,000 tons went into 
storage. The United States production has exceeded that of Italy since 
1912, although the sales have been less, because sulphur was being with- 
drawn from stocks in Italy while stocks in the United States were being 
increased. The net effect of the war was a four-fold increase in the 
amount of sulphur sold in the United States, without any reduction in 
stocks; while in Italy production fell off 50 per cent, and stocks on hand 
were reduced by the same percentage. 

From 98 to 99 per cent, of the United States production has come 
from the Gulf Coast region of the states of Louisiana and Texas. A 
number of other localities in West Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, 



456 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

and Nevada have surface deposits, usually of limited extent, which have 
been worked on a small scale, but have declined in importance with the 
development of the better-grade and more accessible deposits of the Gulf 
Coastal region. 

The occurrence of sulphur in the Gulf Coast region is in connection 
with a peculiar formation known as "Saline Domes" or "Mounds." 
Over twenty of these domes have been located, scattered in an area 200 
miles long, extending through western Louisiana and eastern Texas, 
and generally within 50 miles of the Gulf of Mexico. Commercial 
deposits of petroleum, sulphur, and salt have been developed in connec- 
tion with these domes, but so far not more than one of the minerals has 
been developed to commercial degree in a single dome. Sulphur was 
discovered when drilling was being carried on for oil. So far, three domes 
have been developed for sulphur, namely that owned by the Union 
Sulphur Co. at Sulphur, La. (1903), that owned by the Freeport Sulphur 
Co. at Freeport, Texas (1912), and that of the Texas-Gulf Sulphur Co. 
near Matagordo, Texas (1919). Two other domes are under exploration 
and a number of others may possibly contain sulphur. 

The sulphur occurs at a depth of 300 to 1,200 feet and is associated 
with limestone and underlain by gypsum. The surface area of the pro- 
ducing domes varies from 200 to 1,500 acres. Exploration is done by 
drilling at a cost of $200,000 to $300,000, and the cost of a complete plant 
is several million dollars. The sulphur cannot be mined by shafts, due 
to the quicksands and the poisonous gases encountered. The deposit at 
Sulphur, Louisiana, remained unworked for almost 40 years after its 
discovery before a satisfactory process was developed to mine it. This is 
known as the "Frasch Process" and consists of the sinking of wells to the 
sulphur deposit, each well being lined with a 10 to 12 in. pipe. Smaller 
pipes are placed inside, so that superheated water can be brought in con- 
tact with the sulphur ore, which is melted and forced to the surface by 
compressed air. The sulphur on cooling is ready for market and is over 
99 per cent. pure. Each of the three plants in operation is equipped with 
a boiler capacity of over 20,000 h.p. for superheating the water, and 
requires about a million and a quarter barrels of fuel oil per year. The 
origin of these domes is believed to be due to deep-seated igneous intru- 
sions, resulting in the alteration of gypsum and the crystallization of salt 
and sulphur, which has caused an upbowing of the strata. Because of 
the nature of the formation and the irregularity of the deposits it is 
impossible to accurately estimate the reserves of sulphur. 

With the addition of two new plants since 1912, the United States 
now has a sulphur-producing capacity of about lj^ million tons per year, 
or four times the normal sales before the war. If an outlet is to be found 
for this excess sulphur, it must compete with pyrite in the domestic 
market or with Sicilian sulphur in the European markets. In the latter 



PYRITE AND SULPHUR 457 

part of 1919 prices of $14 to $15 per ton f.o.b. mines were quoted, which 
indicated that an effort was being made to secure part of the acid trade 
which formerly used pyrite. 

There is no element of political control in the United States sulphur 
industry, beyond the temporary measures taken during the war in licens- 
ing export and allocation of consumption. The commercial control is 
entirely in the hands of American companies. The Union Sulphur Co. 
has been endeavoring to prevent the use of the improved "Frasch 
Process" by the other companies which are competing with it. If the 
claim of infringement of patent rights should be sustained, it would give 
the Union company control of the situation similar to that which it had 
before the development of the two newer companies, and might result in 
the restriction of output and maintenance of prices. 

Japan. — Japan takes third rank in the production of sulphur, al- 
though it is of minor importance, compared to either the United States or 
Italy. The production of sulphur in Japan has slowly increased from 
15,000 long tons in 1900 to 60,000 tons in 1913, or about 7 percent, of 
the world output. The domestic consumption is very small and about 
90 per cent, of the output was exported, chiefly to Australia, the west 
coast of the United States and Canada, and to China and India. During 
the war the output increased to a maximum of about 100,000 tons, but 
in 1918 production was considerably curtailed by the great advance in 
freight rates to Australia, which had been purchasing about one-half of 
the Japanese output. 

The sulphur occurs in surface deposits of limited extent and seldom 
reaches 100 feet in thickness. The deposits are generally of the solfa- 
taric type and occur in the numerous areas of volcanic activity. The 
majority of the productive areas are nearly circular in outline, and indi- 
cate that they were formed by deposition in crater lakes. In some cases 
they are stratified and overlain by fine brown clayey or tufaceous ma- 
terial derived partly from the surrounding rocks and partly from the 
sulphur itself. Other deposits of minor importance may have been 
produced by impregnation. The ore mined runs from 50 to 60 per cent, 
sulphur. Deposits below 40 per cent, sulphur are seldom worked. 

Approximately two-thirds of the production has come from the 
southwestern section of the Island of Hokkaido. Four mines average 
about 10,000 tons production each per year, and the remainder of the 
production comes from 10 to 12 smaller operations, ranging from the 
vicinity of Mount Daiton, in Taiwan (Formosa), to the Kurile Islands. 

There is no accurate estimate of ore reserves available. One of 
the most important mines was estimated as containing several million 
tons of 50 per cent. ore. The reserves are probably sufficient to maintain 
present production for many years. The lack of shipping facilities has 
handicapped production, and there seems little likelihood that the relative 



458 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

importance of Japan in the sulphur industry will increase to any great 
extent. 

The sulphur mines are all operated by Japanese. The state reserves 
the right of original ownership of all minerals, except a few placer de- 
posits. Right of working is granted to Japanese companies or individuals 
according to priority of application. The mining law, however, acknowl- 
edges the rights of any corporation organized by aliens under Japanese 
law. 

Great Britain. — Great Britain has an estimated annual by-product 
recovery of from 30,000 to 40,000 tons of elemental sulphur. The proc- 
ess of recovery is known as the Chance-Claus process, and is applied in 
connection with the Le Blanc soda process. It is based upon the decom- 
position of calcium sulphate in vat waste by means of carbon dioxide, 
and the recovery of sulphur from the sulphuretted hydrogen gas thus 
generated. 

Other Countries. — The production of sulphur outside of the United 
States, Italy and Japan is of minor importance. 

Northern Chile has a small production of sulphur from the volcanoes 
of Tacora and Chupiquina. The reserves are estimated as quite large, 
but the high elevation (14,000 to 20,000 ft.) and poor transportation have 
restricted production to local uses in the vineyard districts of Chile. 
The production as reported had gradually increased to about 6,000 tons 
in 1913 and is reported to have doubled since then. 

Spain produces about 10,000 tons of sulphur annually, from low- 
grade deposits located in the neighborhood of Almeria. The larger 
figures often reported are in terms of low-grade ore mined. 

Austria is credited with a production of from 10 to 15 thousand tons 
of crude sulphur ore, probably representing only 2 or 3 thousand tons of 
actual sulphur. 

The largest sulphur mine in Mexico is located at Cerritos, 25 miles 
south of Guadalcazar, San Luis Potosi. Fifteen years ago it was pur- 
chased by an American company, the Virginia-Carolina Chemical Co. 
It was later leased to German interests. The small output of a few 
thousand tons was shipped to Germany before the war. There are 
a number of deposits in San Luis Potosi in addition to the one at 
Cerritos. 

It has been reported several times that a British company was about 
to operate the sulphur deposits of the Mexican volcano, Popocatepetl, 
near Mexico City. Statements regarding the deposits in the volcano are 
conflicting, but investigations indicate that their magnitude has been 
much exaggerated. Many other deposits occur in connection with local 
volcanic areas, but so far are of little economic value because of 
inaccessibility. 

There are a number of deposits of sulphur in the Aleutian Islands 



PYRITE AND SULPHUR 459 

(Alaska), probably containing considerable sulphur, but partially covered 
by glaciers and difficult of access. It is doubtful whether they could be 
developed in the face of the competition of the cheap sulphur from the 
coastal plain district of the United States. 

CHANGES IN PRACTICE 

No very far-reaching changes in practice are likely to occur in the 
near future. The exhaustion of the surface sulphur deposits in Italy 
and the necessity for deep mining is making necessary improvement and 
installation of more modern methods there. Improved methods in the 
refining of sulphur are also being installed whereby the losses under the 
old calcarone method will be largely eliminated. The consumption of 
sulphur for sulphite wood pulp can be considerably reduced by the 
general utilization of the improved practice which is already used by the 
best plants. In localities where pyrite is available this material may 
be used in the pulp industry to replace sulphur. In case competition 
develops between the three large sulphur companies in the United States, 
and the price of sulphur is considerably reduced, it may result in the use 
of this material to a larger extent in the sulphuric-acid industry. The 
sulphur burners can be installed much more quickly and cheaply than 
the furnaces required to roast pyrite, and after once being installed the 
amount of labor and care required in their operation is less. The in- 
creased recovery of sulphuric acid as a by-product from copper and zinc 
smelters will probably represent an increasing factor in competition with 
acid made either from pyrite or sulphur. The further increase of this 
source in the United States is handicapped by the location of many of the 
copper smelters in the west, at long distances from the market for sul- 
phuric acid, which is largely in the eastern and southern states. New 
processes are being experimented with, for the production of elementary 
sulphur from these sulphur fumes. If these are successful on a large 
scale, material from this source may supply any future markets located 
in the west, and might compete with the Japanese sulphur which has 
formerly been imported in our Pacific Coast States. 

POLITICAL CONTROL OF SULPHUR AND PYRITE 

The political control of the important sulphur deposits of the world 
primarily corresponds to the countries in which they are located. In the 
case of the United States, the deposits are controlled by private com- 
panies. As a strictly war measure, control was exercised over the 
allocation and distribution of the output. In Italy the government 
had assumed control of the output and marketing of sulphur. This 
was largely brought about by the competition of American sulphur and 



460 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

the consequent depression of the Italian industry. In 1906 what was 
known as the Consorzia Obbligatoria was organized under a law passed 
by the Italian Parliament, which provided that this company should be 
administered by a royal commissioner appointed by the Italian govern- 
ment. Under this law producers were obliged to sell their output to this 
company, which had control of prices and exports. In 1910 restrictions 
on the granting of new concessions were made. The arguments recently 
presented for the continuance of government control were the increasing 
foreign competition, the large war increase in United States production, 
the minor increase of Japanese production and the possibilities of develop- 
ments in northern Africa. The intent of this governmental control of 
the industry is to combine and regulate the efforts of individual producers 
in order to effectively meet future competition. 

COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF SULPHUR AND PYRITE 

Before 1906 the Italian deposits were largely controlled by the Anglo- 
Si cilian Sulphur Co., representing English capital, but since that time, 
when the Italian government undertook to control the industry, the 
commercial control has been primarily Italian. 

In the United States the commercial control of sulphur output is in the 
hands of three companies, one of which started producing just about the 
time of +he outbreak of the European war and another whose production 
was just beginning in 1919. So far as is known, there is no combination 
among these three interests. The Union Sulphur Co., which was 
the first and principal producer, controls certain patents covering the 
"Frasch Process." During the war period an agreement was entered 
into by which alleged infringement of patents was not pushed. Since 
the close of the war it remains to be seen to what extent the patent 
rights involved may affect the production of the other two companies, 
the Freeport and the Texas Gulf, which in general use a similar process. 

The production of sulphur in Japan is commercially controlled by 
Japanese interests. 

An American company, the Virginia-Carolina Chemical Co., owns 
a sulphur deposit in Mexico, which was leased, before the war, to 
German interests. Several other deposits in Mexico and South Amt rica 
were reported as controlled by German interests, but thus far the pro- 
duction from all these sources has been relatively of minor importance 
and there is no immediate prospect of any great change. 

The significant factor of commercial control in the pyrite situation 
is the large investment of British capital in the Spanish deposits and to a 
less extent the investment of French capital. United States capital 
controls the principal pyrite developments in Canada, Cuba, Mexico and 
Cypms. English, French and Swedish capital is invested in Norway. 



PYRITE AND SULPHUR 461 

POSITION OF THE PRINCIPAL POWERS 

The United States is the most favorably situated of any nation in its 
supply of sulphur. In the years preceding the European war it produced 
about one-half the world's supply. Since that time its production 
has increased several fold and it is now the dominating factor in the 
world situation. 

The relative position of Italy, which was formerly of equal importance 
with the United States, is declining. Her cost of production is increasing, 
and American sulphur will enter into keen competition with the European 
markets. The resources of Japan are comparatively small and the 
larger part of her production has been exported. The post-war condi- 
tions will probably curtail the markets for Japanese sulphur, and there is 
no likelihood of any increase in Japan's position. England, France and 
Germany must primarily rely upon other countries for their supply of 
both pyrite and sulphur. England secures a part of her sulphur supply 
from a by-product source known as the Chance-Claus process, which 
produces from 30 to 40 thousand tons annually. In addition she secures 
large amounts of pyrite from Spain. France produces some local pyrite, 
but imports large quantities of this material from Spain; and before the 
outbreak of the war was securing increasing amounts of sulphur from the 
United States. Germany and Austria have some resources in pyrite and 
probably had considerable stocks of sulphur at the opening of the war. 
It has been stated that in order to secure her needs of these materials 
Germany was forced to use expensive processes, to reduce the sulphur 
content of gypsum, to expand her pyrite production, and to increase the 
output of smelter acid. Under normal conditions she will probably have 
to return to imports of pyrite from Norway and Sweden, or sulphur from 
the United States and Italy. 



CHAPTER XXIX 

GOLD 

By John E. Orchard 
USES OF GOLD 

The physical properties of gold and the difficulties connected with 
obtaining it have made gold through all the ages one of the most precious 
of the metals. Because of its luster, its color, and its indestructibility, 
it was shaped by primitive man into rings, bracelets, and other ornaments. 
These same properties, together with its divisibility, early led to the use of 
gold as a trading counter, and in all but the most primitive societies it 
has been regarded as a measure of value and a medium of exchange. 
The earliest known reference to gold is a reference to its use in trade, and 
is contained in an edict of Menes of Egypt (perhaps 3800 B. C.) fixing 
the ratio of the value of gold to silver at 2J£ to 1. 

As a medium of exchange gold is used in a variety of forms. The 
primitive trader accepted and gave ornaments of gold in exchange for 
commodities. In mining camps, gold dust and nuggets have been the 
circulating medium. In a settled community under a government pos- 
sessing the confidence of the governed, gold coined into counters of con- 
venient denominations by the government is accepted without question 
in all transactions. For the settlement of balances in international 
trade, gold bullion is used, its value being determined by weight. Today 
practically all nations are on a gold standard, and even those on a silver 
standard in domestic trade have adopted the gold standard for foreign 
trade. 

But gold, though it has many excellent qualities, is one of the heaviest 
of metals, and carrying it on the person is inconvenient, especially in 
amounts sufficient for large transactions. Also, through constant hand- 
ling, gold wears away and coins deteriorate in value. Accordingly a 
large part of the coins or the gold bullion is kept in the national treasury 
or in the vaults of a bank, and some form of paper currency is used as the 
circulating medium. Upon this reserve of gold, seen only by a few em- 
ployees of the government or bank, who have no ownership in it, is built 
an intricate system of credits and trade. 

It is true that little gold is in actual circulation and that for domestic 
trade mediums of exchange secured only in part by gold are being used in 
increasing amounts. Even international exchange is no longer on the 

462 



GOLD 463 

gold standard, but this situation is undoubtedly temporary and with the 
improvement in financial conditions in Europe gold will be restored to 
its position as foundation of trade and finance, national and international. 
The circulating medium, whatever its nature, must be freely convertible, 
and credit, to remain sound, must be founded upon an adequate gold 
reserve. 

It has been officially estimated that between the years 1492 and 1894 
the world's production of gold equaled about $8,000,000,000. Of this 
amount a little less than $4,000,000,000 was held as gold reserve in 1894, 
the remainder having been lost or absorbed in the arts or in the manu- 
facture of jewelry. Since 1894 the consumption of gold in the arts has 
been between $50,000,000 and $100,000,000 annually, or for the 27 years 
about $2,100,000,000 out of a total production of $9,000,000,000— 
almost 25 per cent. 1 

GEOLOGICAL OCCURRENCE 

Gold is widely distributed, both geographically and geologically. 
It is found in about 60 countries in all parts of the world and occurs in 
rocks of all ages, from Archean to Quaternary, often in association with 
other metals, as silver, copper, tellurium, lead, and iron. 

Gold deposits may be broadly classified as lodes and placers. Lode 
deposits are also known as vein or quartz deposits; and in them the gold is 
found with silica or quartz in irregular masses, strings, scales, plates, and 
crystals, or more often in microscopic particles in the sulphide minerals or 
the gangue. Much the same methods are used for extracting the ore as 
are used in mining silver, lead, or zinc. 

Placer or alluvial deposits are sedimentary beds of gravel or sand in 
which the particles of gold, washed from the mother lode, have been 
concentrated by the action of water. Most of the placer deposits he 
in the open, along the bed of a river, but some are covered by a sheet of 
lava or other non-productive rock. The gold occurs as scales, grains, 
slugs or nuggets. A number of large nuggets have been found, the largest 
being the Australian " Welcome Stranger," weighing 2,520 ounces and 
valued at about $42,000. Usually, however, the particles of gold are 
minute. 

Placer deposits are worked by one of the following methods, depend- 
ing on the nature and richness of the alluvium : sluice mining, hydraulic 
mining, dredging, or drift mining. 

During the early years of what has been called the modern era of 
gold mining, beginning with the discovery of gold in California in 1848, 
most of the world's annual production came from placer deposits. De 
Launay estimates that from 1848 to 1875 placers contributed 87 percent. 
In more recent years, with the exhaustion of the easily discovered and 

1 Jennings, Hennen: "The Gold Industry and Gold Standard," 1919. 



464 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

the easily worked placer mines, the proportion has decreased and at 
present it is probably not more than 10 per cent. Today the great gold 
mines of the world are lode mines. The world's deepest gold mine has 
attained a vertical depth of 5,900 feet. 

After making all allowances for further discoveries, students of the 
subject are of the opinion that the world's gold production has already 
reached its zenith and that a decline may be expected. 1 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

Commercially important mines are found in every continent, and 
there are few regions on the earth's surface that do not contain deposits 
profitably worked now or formerly. The distribution of gold has 
played an important part in the settlement of new lands, notably Cali- 
fornia, western Canada, Alaska, Mexico, Australia, and South Africa, and 
will undoubtedly greatly influence the future movements of peoples. 
Yet although gold is distributed thus widely, $323,950,000, or over 75 per 
cent, of the total amount of gold produced in 1917, came from four 
countries, Transvaal, United States, Australia and Russia. 

The outputs of the chief producing countries are given in Table 67 
and Figure 19. 

Noeth America 

United States. — Although at present surpassed by the Transvaal, 
the United States formerly led the world as a producer of gold. It is 
estimated that this country since 1792 has contributed about $3,913,- 
000,000 to the gold supply of the world, a little less than 25 per cent, 
of the total produced, and an output greater than that of any other 
nation. 2 The United States first became an important producer in 1850, 
following the discovery of gold in California. Previous to that time 
some gold was mined in the Appalachian states, the total probably 
reaching .$50,000,000. 

In 1915 the output of the United States was $101,035,000, the highest 
mark so far reached. Since that year there has been an annual drop of 
about $8,000,000 in output. The yield in 1918 was $68,646,700 and in 
1919, $58,488,800. 

During the past four years, eight states, California, Colorado, Alaska, 
South Dakota, Nevada, Arizona, Montana, and Utah, have produced 
more than 90 per cent, of the gold mined in the United States. 

1 The above discussion of the geological occurrence of gold is based mainly on 
"The Gold Industry and Gold Standard" and other articles by Hennen Jennings, 
consulting engineer, U. S. Bureau of Mines. 

2 Report of the committee appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to study 
the gold situation. 



GOLD 



465 



oooooo 
oooooo 

« 1-1 CD O 00_ 

COCo"co"<N ©iO 

cocn ©oitNco 

Tt<O©C01>-<* 



ooo 
ooo 
oc>o 
co"**"©" 

© t^© 
i-Hl>1-H 



OOO 

ooo 

<NJ>0_ 

©"oo©" 

rJ<00CO 



OCfOOOOOOt 
OOOOOoOO! 
iO 00 CO CD CD t>. t^. r-i ( 

i-H ■■# »o" eo i-H eo ©" rjT 

iO © O © »C 00 l>CN 
cO_Tt<_ i-H i> NO 001> 

CO" l> r-T OO" (N CD* CO CO* 

TjfiOOOOOCOOOC 

HHHHNNNCC 



CD(Nt> 

!>©CO 
lO©l> 
Tt"o"co" 

lOCO© 



'OOOOO 

>ooooo 

^t>CNt>0_CD^ 

~<ni>oo"co~©" 

ON00OO 
I>C0<N»O© 
t>"t>"o"cs"<N~ 

CN-^OOOi-H 
COCOCO^rF 



05_1-H_r-^t>rH^H 

co ©"© oT© i-i 
t- ira co co co -# 

'tONfflH© 

cxrTt*ioT-rcoo* 

rfi m io co co io 



ooooo 

fflnoo 
CM_©iO(N 
00 Tj"cO©" 

0_«>rHlO 

©"oo-#co" 

COCO>0(N 

^ Tt* ^ T$* 





ooiMoooooooooooooogoogoooooooooooooioooo 

C0OtNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOl>t>OO 

ho in ©_©_©© ooo oocqcoqo_NO_o_qo B MHonHNHN©OiHq»H«Nq 
ooo'cd rH co'^t^tjTtjTo"!-- o*o">o oo"i-"o oo"o"-*conicn^ i—i »-i c"o"o"6 oo"od o"o"o" 

OOiOmiOOOOHCqNOfflONOOOmOOOOOOiONOOMOONitirtOOOOOOiOOlO 

© oo © © hoo co oo o> t>i » o_rH m »oo eo «q»qiq©jN i-h co_co_rH iqeqro oo ©opjo mn 'qcqo, 

HHHHHHHNNNNINH 



NMiOcOrHOJOOHNHOiOOOMOOCO^OO 
i-Ht^i-HTtfCOOOOi-iTjHOOCOiOiOCOOOOOCNlOO 
COt> <» OS_"2 ■>* cN (N_t> i-h ■<* 0\C0_I> ©.«> ^^CM CD 

TjTo^oo"T^"©iOT^i>csr©"(Nco~o"'co"©^"eo"iONoo"" 

•*<NiCt^©CD©COO0©<NlC0©<N<Nt^©i-iCO00 

HHIMCC^ T^"t~"©i-rco"co"co"co~Tj"Tjrr>"oo © TjT 



^oo_io_o_oo <n Tt^cqeqeo u5r-< i-h io io w«q 

00 ^00 o"i-h lO ©"©"i-HCO »0 ■*" ■* !>' ^ 00 th'cO »0 <N o"<N <NTj"Tt"<N" c"co"oo"c<"io" NN(C od co" cn" oo" 
NNCqMNNN«NMCq(NNNWMN(NNMNlNN(NN(NHMNCOncONNlNW(NH 




»0©>OO-#©iOt^OC000©C500©00T-<i0©'-<00©00©t>©r-H|>|>l>OT^©C0©t~C0i0 
O©i0i000C0cN(N©00©©i000CD©00©©(N©00I>i-l©CN©t>(N©l>00Or-iC0©-i-iN' 
l> CD ©^i-H CM t^i tJ^CO iOOOOCOi-lCOt^t^i-liOOOCOTt<OOiO(Nt^©COCDCO©'<*THiOT-nOCO C^(N_ 

CM CO CO CM CM CM CM CM CM CO CM CO CO CO ^ ■* "# Ui CO 1> i> t» X 00 00 00 00 1> b- t- CO CO lO »C ■* ■* CO CO 



00©0©T-H©COt^t^iOiO'OiO©©OOCOCOCOi-<©©i-HTj<OCOiO©CO©Oi-H'^^H.»OlO© 
©OO©©©©C0©©Tf<t>-r-<iO©,-H00©©i0t>©©©©00t^C0©t^©©iO00e0C0'-< l O 
O^t^iqo^oqoO^OO^i-^^H ©^00_i-h 0©iOcOOCOtJ<© rH © O lO Tj< i-h CO -^ iO ©_CM 00 tJJ_ oo_iqo_w •* 

CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO tH lO lO © J> I> t> 00 t- 00 00 © © © © © © © 00 © © © oo 



©^pqcO-*iO©l>00©©i--i(NCOT}<iO©l>00©©i-icNlCO'*>O©I>00©©'-iCNCO-^iO©t^ 

SSS55S oocoot)ooooot)Q<) 0)oooo)0)ffloc!OOoooooooooHHHHHHHH 

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000©©©©©©©05©©©©©©©© ©.© 



MM 


Tt< 


-a 


© 

CO 






if <s> 


IO 


a o 


co 


%% 


CO" 




»H 


A a 




+s 03 


© 


*-s 


€© 


%% 

^ 


t^ 


<D& 




.tsrt 


| 


°- 


CM 
© 


rfl fl 


*-* 


+3 O 






-d 






m 3 


o 


^73 


* 


b o 




O fc, 




ft 0. 


o 


^00 


a 






Hoo 




o H 


o 


£$.*§ 


73 - 


fli u 


mpile 

timat 
tal pr 


O u 


B O 


OPhWH 



30 



466 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



With the discovery of gold in a mill race at Coloma, Eldorado County, 
California, by J. A. Marshall in 1848, the history of modern gold pro- 




22 P 



duction began. The great rush to California followed and the state 
became the leading gold-producing region of the world. The output 



GOLD 467 

for 1860 amounted to $45,320,000, as compared with a total output 
of only $1,000,000 for the remaining states. For many years the gold 
production of California has been declining, the total yield in 1917 
amounting to only $20,000,000, a decrease of almost $2,000,000 from the 
output of 1916. About three-fifths of the output comes from lode mines 
and the remainder from placers. 

For a number of years Colorado was the leading gold-producing state, 
principally because of the output from Cripple Creek, Teller County, 
which was from 1893 to 1908 the leading gold camp in the United States. 
Recently the output has fallen below that of California. Over half of 
the yield of the state in 1916 came from Teller County. 

The earliest discovery of gold in Alaska was probably about 1849 
along the shores of Cook Inlet. In 1879 the gold-quartz veins near 
Sitka were discovered, and a year later the placers of Juneau. The 
discovery of the gold placers in the valley of the Yukon was made in 
1886 and of those in the Klondike in 1896. Most of the Alaskan output 
is obtained from placer deposits, the richest being in the Seward Pen- 
insula near Nome and in the Yukon basin. The largest producing 
lode mines have been those near Juneau; of these the Treadwell was 
for long the greatest gold mine in the world, but it is now inactive. 
During the past few years the working of large low-grade disseminated 
deposits of the Treadwell type near Juneau has been undertaken 
on a scale hitherto undreamed of, but thus far these ventures 
(Alaska Gold and Alaska Juneau mines) have not been financially 
successful. 

The gold-producing area of South Dakota is confined to an area of less 
than 100 square miles, lying in the Black Hills. The gravels of White- 
wood and Deadwood gulches were first washed in 1875, and in 1876 the 
famous Homestake lodes were discovered. At present about 94 per 
cent, of the total output of the state is controlled by one company, the 
Homestake Mining Co., the largest producing company in the United 
States. 

Following the exhaustion of the famous Comstock lode, demarcated 
in 1851, Nevada was of little importance as a gold-producing state until 
the discovery of the rich deposits of Tonopah in 1900. At present 
practically all the gold obtained in the state comes from the vein deposits 
of Tonopah and Goldfield. Divide is a newly developed camp between 
these two. 

There are three main auriferous areas in Arizona: the vicinity of 
Bisbee and Tombstone, Cochise County; the Oatman district, Mohave 
County; and the Verde district, Yavapai County. Arizona was one of the 
few states to show a larger output in 1917 than in 1916. The United 
Eastern mine, a new property opened in 1913 in the Oatman district of 
Mohave County, produced heavily and was responsible for the increase. 



468 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

The gold output of Cochise and Yavapai counties is obtained largely from 
copper ore. 

During the sixties and seventies, Montana was second only to Cali- 
fornia in its yield of placer gold. The most famous placers were those of 
Bannack and Alder Gulch and later Helena. Much of the present output 
is obtained as a by-product from copper ores. 

Few mines in Utah are worked exclusively for their gold content, the 
greater part of the yield of the state being derived from copper and 
lead ores. 

Gold is also mined in Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. 
Small amounts were produced in 1917 in a number of the Appalachian 
states. Before the discovery of gold in California, practically all of the 
gold coined in the United States mint came from the mines of Virginia, 
Maryland, Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas, but since the Civil War 
their output has not been important. The gold production of the Philip- 
pine Islands in 1917 amounted to $1,404,000. 

Canada. — The total gold yield of Canada in 1900 amounted to 
$28,000,000, but with the exhaustion of the placer deposits it declined to 
$8,382,000 in 1907. With the development of vein deposits, production 
increased steadily from this low point, and reached $19,235,000 in 1916, 
and $15,272,992 in 1917, placing Canada sixth in the list of gold producers. 
Three provinces, Ontario, British Columbia, and the Yukon Territory, 
yield most of the gold, the remaining provinces producing less than 
1 per cent, of the total. 

More than one-half of the Canadian production comes from the 
Porcupine district in Temiskaming, Ontario, developed in 1912. Other 
producing districts, though of minor importance, are Kirkland Lake and 
Munro Township, also in Temiskaming, and Long Lake, near Naughton, 
Sudbury district. 1 

At one time most of the gold output of British Columbia was derived 
from placers, chiefly from those in the Atlin and Cariboo districts, but 
less than 5 per cent, came from that source in 1917. The main lode 
mining districts are West Kootenay and Yale, in the southern part of 
the province. 2 Gold production in 1917 amounted to about half of the 
total for 1916. 

Gold has been known in the Yukon Territory since 1869 and the de- 
posits have been actively worked since 1881. The greater part of the 
placers of Forty-mile River and all of Sixty-mile River are within Cana- 
dian jurisdiction. In 1897 came the discovery of the Klondike. Gold 
production reached its height in Yukon Territory in 1900, when the out- 

1 " Production of Copper, Gold, Lead, Nickel, Silver, Zinc, and Other Metals in 
Canada, 1916." Canadian Department of Mines, Mines Branch, 1917. 

2 "Production of Copper, Gold, Lead, Nickel, Silver, Zinc, and Other Metals in 
Canada, 1917." Canadian Department of Mines, Mines Branch, 1919. 



GOLD 469 

put was 1,077,649 fine ounces, valued at $22,000,000. Practically all of 
the 1917 production was derived from placer deposits. 

Gold was mined in Quebec as early as 1823, but Canada was of little 
importance as a gold-producing region prior to the discovery of the 
British Columbia placers in 1857. Gold deposits of little economic value 
are still worked in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfound- 
land. Prospecting and development work in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, 
and Alberta indicate that these provinces may become important pro- 
ducers of gold. 

Mexico. — For many years Mexico ranked fourth among the gold- 
producing countries of the world, being surpassed only by the Transvaal, 
the United States, and Australasia. Revolutions and bandit warfare 
have seriously interfered with mining operations since 191 1, and the output 
of gold in 1917 was little more than one-third of the normal annual yield. 
With the establishment of a stable government, able to protect foreign 
investments, Mexico will no doubt regain its former position. 

A large part of the gold output of Mexico is obtained as a by-product 
from lead, silver, zinc, and copper ores. The only true gold-mining 
district is the El Oro district of the states of Mexico and Michoacan. 
The chief producing mines are the Esperanza, El Oro, Mexico Mines of 
El Oro, and Dos Estrellas. In 1906 the Esperanza was considered, in 
respect to both actual output and profits earned, the most productive 
gold mine in the world. Since then it has been surpassed by mines of the 
United States and the Transvaal. Another famous gold mine of Mexico, 
the Dolores, situated in western Chihuahua, yields ore whose silver con- 
tent is almost equal in value to the gold. Lower California, Sonora, 
Durango, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosi, Guanajuato, and Chiapas are all 
gold-producing states. 

Central America. — At the time of the discovery of America, the 
Spanish were attracted to the region now included in the states of Cen- 
tral America by reports of fabulously rich mines and of the wealth of the 
Indians. A number of expeditions were sent out in search of the gold 
and some rich mines were discovered and worked. Gold is still produced 
in Central America, but the total amount is small, being less than 1 
per cent, of the world total in 1913. Honduras is the richest of the states 
in production and Nicaragua ranks second, the principal centers of the 
gold-mining industry being in the Departments of Matagalpa and Chon- 
tales, and in the district of Cabo Gracias and Prinzapolka. 1 

South America 

South America was also an important source of gold during the years 
following the discovery of America. The early conquerors obtained gold 
1 U. S. Commerce Reports, Supplement 34a, 1915, p. 4, 



470 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

by plundering the temples, churches, and even the graves of the natives. 
Following the conquest, the Spaniards by means of their slaves systemati- 
cally searched much of the continent for gold deposits. About 15 per 
cent. ($2,266,000,000) of all the gold produced between 1492 and 1917 
came from South America. 

Today South America is of little importance as a gold producer, the 
combined yield of all the countries for 1913 being about 2.5 per cent, of 
the world total. The great bulk of the South American production has 
so far been alluvial gold. With the establishment of more stable govern- 
ments and the improvement of transportation facilities it is likely that 
the production of South America will increase. 

According to Maclaren 1 the gold fields of South America are disposed 
in three somewhat sharply separated areas. The chief area is that ex- 
tending the length of the Andes from the Isthmus of Panama to central 
Chile and including the deposits of Colombia. The second area is con- 
tained in a well-marked petrographic and metallographic province ex- 
tending across the rearland of the Guianas and including also the mines of 
Venezuela and northern Brazil. The third area is contained in the 
province of Minas Geraes, Brazil. Some gold is obtained from Chile, 
Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Uruguay. The chief gold-bearing 
areas of Colombia are Choco, the Department of Antioquia, and the dis- 
trict lying between the Cauca and Magdalena rivers. Fairly rich de- 
posits have also been found in Colombia near the Ecuadorian border. 2 

The principal mines of Brazil are the St. John del Rey mine, and the 
mines owned by the Ouro Preto Gold Mines of Brazil, Ltd., both in the 
State of Minas Geraes. The former mine is said to be the deepest in 
the world. 

Eukope 

Although Europe in the past has played an important part in the 
production of gold, very little is mined at the present time. Previous to 
the discovery of America, much of the gold in use came from the Alps 
and from Hungary. Deposits were also worked in England, Ireland, 
Wales, Spain, and Germany. 

The only gold mines in Europe of any present economic importance 
are in the former empire of Austria-Hungary, France, and the Urals of 
Russia. In the south of France gold has been produced along the streams 
flowing from the Pyrenees, and also in the eastern provinces. At present 
only three mines are in operation, which in 1911 produced 2,554 kilograms 
of gold. The Hungarian deposits are very old, as they were worked by 
the Romans 2,000 years ago. Most of the producing mines of today are 

1 Maclaren, J. Malcolm: "Gold: Its Geological Occurrence and Geographical 
Distribution, 1908," p. 619. 

2 U. S. Commerce Reports, Supplement 426, 1915, p. 12. 



GOLD 471 

in Transylvania. Russia is credited with producing 5.8 per cent, of the 
world total in 1913. A small part of this production came from the 
Urals of European Russia, chiefly as a by-product from other ores, but 
the greater part was obtained in Siberia. The Siberian deposits are 
discussed below, under Asia. 

^Asia 

Since the decline in the Mexican production, Russia ranks fourth 
among the gold-producing countries. Most of the output comes from 
Siberia, which has long been a source of gold, the mines of the Altai 
Mountains being considered among the oldest in the world. The pro- 
duction of gold in Siberia from 1830 to date has been estimated by Russian 
authorities at approximately $1,000,000,000. 

Maclaren 1 has divided the auriferous areas of the country into two 
distinct regions, the eastern and western. About four-fifths of the coun- 
try's production is derived from the former region, which extends in one 
fairly narrow auriferous belt from Lake Baikal to the southwestern shores 
of the Sea of Okhotsk. 

A number of dredges have been operated in the Ural district. The 
most promising property is the Riderlinsky, east of Omsk. In the 
southern Urals, most of the mines produce copper, pyrite, or zinc, the 
gold by-product making the profits. The Ridder mine, in the Altai 
Mountains, is the best-known lode mine in Siberia. 

Placers are located along the Manchurian frontier on the Onon and 
Amur rivers. They are among the most important in Siberia and have 
produced over $100,000,000 in gold. The deposits of Irkutsk along the 
Lena River are the most important deposits so far exploited in Siberia 
and are probably the richest placers ever discovered. The district 
produces about one-third of the Siberian output. The placers are at 
present about worked out as drift mines, but will continue to produce 
with the installation of dredges. 

Many engineers believe that Siberia is the richest remaining potential 
source of gold in the world. It has been estimated that the country will 
produce in the future, say in the next 30 or 40 years, about $6,000,000,000. 
The unsettled political conditions have greatly interfered with mining. 
Many of the mines were taken over by the Bolshevists, and although it 
is unlikely that any attempt at systematic mining will be made, they will 
probably be robbed of the richer exposed ore before they can be recovered 
by the owners. 

India has long been regarded as a land of riches. Philologists have 
proved, to their own satisfaction, that Ophir, the source of the stores of 
gold of Solomon, was located there. In the deserts of northern India 

1 Maclaren, J. Malcolm: "Gold: Its Geological Occurrence and Geographical 
Distribution," p. 210. 



472 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

lived the gold-digging ants, described by the Greek historians and later 
writers and as yet unexplained. Present facts do not bear out legend 
and tradition. In 1913 India contributed only 2.6 per cent, of the world's 
total production of gold, an amount hardly proportionate to the extent of 
the country. The land offers to the prospector an extremely uninviting 
field. It has been carefully prospected and its deposits have been worked 
assiduously for at least twenty-five centuries by a people possessing great 
patience and considerable mining skill. 1 The principal modern produc- 
ing gold mines of India are in the Kolar field, where the main reef carries 
five large mines along its strike. 

Japan was one of the chief contributors to the stream of gold that 
poured into Europe during the sixteenth century. Portuguese and Dutch 
traders came to the islands to exchange European products for the gold 
mined by thousands of natives. The Japanese finally revolted against 
this domination of their trade and expelled the last of the Portuguese in 
1624. A few Dutch were permitted to remain and to trade through 
certain ports, but under most humiliating conditions. Between the 
years 1601 and 1764, it is estimated that about 3,763,572 ounces of gold 
was exported from Japan. At the present the annual gold production 
of Japan, including Formosa, is about $6,000,000. 

Most of the gold-quartz veins of Japan have been worked for many 
generations and only the poorer sulphide zones remain. 

The Island of Formosa, which was acquired by Japan in 1895, had 
been represented by early European travelers as a storehouse of untold 
riches. Not until 1890 were the sites of the old workings rediscovered, 
the discovery of flakes of gold during the construction of a railway 
precipitating a rush of Chinese miners to the island. 2 

The total output of gold in Chosen (Korea) in 1914 approximated 
$5,000,000, but at present the output is declining because of the abnormal 
rise in the price of chemicals and materials necessary for mining. The 
yield for 1918 will probably not exceed $3,500,000, 60 per cent, of 
which will be obtained from three mines operated by foreign capital. 
The chief gold-quartz mines of Chosen are included in the American 
concession at Unsan in North Pyong-an Province, northwestern Korea. 
From these mines is derived about half of the annual gold production 
of Chosen. Korea also contains a large number of placer deposits, 
mostly small, that have been extensively mined by Koreans. The placer 
deposits of the Unsan district have not yet been worked, but those of 
the Chiksan district are being exploited by the Japanese. 3 

1 Maclaren, J. Malcolm: "Gold: Its Geological Occurrence and Geographical 
Distribution," p. 238-240. 

2 " Mining in Japan, Past and Present," the Bureau of Mines, Department of 
Agriculture and Commerce, Japan, 1909, pp. 17 and 64. 

3 U. S. Commerce Reports, February 26, 1914. 



GOLD 473 

The small, scattered gold deposits of China, both vein and placer, 
are worked almost exclusively by the Chinese, as none has been discovered 
of sufficient richness to attract foreign capital. On the Island of Hainan, 
southeast of the mainland, the Chinese government is operating mines. 

Exploration work carried on in China up to the present does not 
indicate that the country will ever become an important producer of gold. 
Even in the provinces contributing most of the present output — Man- 
churia, Yunnan, and Szechuen — the gold industry gives little promise 
of growth. During the years 1911, 1912, and 1913, 700 streams were 
examined in the last two provinces and gold was found in 430, but in no 
case in sufficient quantity to pay for working. 

There have been many rumors concerning the gold deposits of the 
vast and unexplored territory of Tibet since the very earliest expeditions 
to that country but the field is still closed to modern enterprise and even 
to careful scientific examination. Despite previous reports, it has been 
stated by the geologist accompanying a British expedition about 10 years 
ago that the mineral value of Tibet was not easily apparent. Near the 
frontier of the State of Bhutan there are many colonies of gold washers. 
The Tibetan gold is found in nuggets as well as in spangles and dust, 
but the Tibetans are said to be careful to leave the nuggets intact, or to 
replace them if disturbed, under the belief that they are living and are 
the parents of the spangles and dust, or the roots from which new gold 
grows, which latter would disappear were the lumps removed. 1 

Siam, Burma, Indo-China, and the Federated Malay States at present 
contribute only a small part of the gold production of Asia. Exploration 
and prospecting are proceeding actively and the results to date are 
favorable. Future developments may substantiate the statements of 
the ancient writers and cartographers that there was much gold in this 
region. Gold and other minerals are known to exist in Afghanistan, but 
with the exception of a gold mine near Kandahar, in charge of a Euro- 
pean, the mineral resources are almost entirely undeveloped. 

Africa 

Since 1905 South Ajrica, including Transvaal, Cape Colony, and 
Natal, has been the leading gold producer of the world, a position that 
would have been attained several years earlier had not the Boer War in- 
terfered. In 1917, gold valued at $186,255,000, or nearly half of the 
world's output, was produced, the greater part being derived from the 
Witwatersrand, or Rand, near Johannesburg, Transvaal. Production in 
1918 feU to $174,068,000. 

Gold was first discovered in the Transvaal in 1870, but production 
was not important previous to the discovery of gold on the farm Lang- 
laagte, Witwatersrand, in 1885. The mines are spread along a belt 
extending some 62 miles from Randfontein on the west to Holfontein on 

1 U. S. Commerce Reports, February 26, 1914. 



474 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

the east. This belt contains the largest deposit of gold that has ever 
been found in one place, and its gold content probably equals that of all 
the other known gold fields of the world combined. The ore is not 
exceptionally high grade, but can be economically treated in large quan- 
tities. The deposit, it has been estimated, may represent $3,000,000,000 
to $4,000,000,000 from about 40 square miles, of which about half had 
been extracted by 1916. 

Gold occurs both in vein and placer deposits in Natal and Cape Colony, 
but the output is small. 

Rhodesia, in seventh place in 1913, has developed rapidly in recent 
years as a producer of gold and now outranks Mexico. According to 
Portuguese records, gold was mined in Rhodesia as early as 1788. The 
discovery in 1866 of ancient ruins and of ancient gold mines at Zimbabwe 
gave rise to the hypothesis that Rhodesia was the Ophir of the Scriptures. 
Although numerous attempts were made to open the gold fields, no 
measure of success was obtained until 1891, and only during the present 
century has the true character of the Rhodesian gold-quartz veins been 
recognized. The settlement of the country and the development of 
the mines is the result of the efforts of Cecil Rhodes and the Charter 
Company. 

The gold is widely distributed and most of the mines are small. The 
future of the country as a gold producer would seem to depend upon the 
operation of the lower-grade ore bodies by large companies. The Shamva 
mine is a conspicuous example. 

West Africa, especially the Gold Coast, is the only region of Africa, 
other than the Transvaal and Rhodesia, producing gold in important 
quantities. The output of the British West Africa colonies in 1917 
amounted to about $7,500,000. The unhealthful climate of the region 
will probably prevent for some years any extensive mining operations 
by white men. 

Gold mines are also worked in Abyssinia, Belgian Congo, Egypt, 
French East Africa, the former German East Africa, Madagascar, and the 
Sudan, but the total annual production from all these countries is little 
more than $2,000,000. The rock carvings and the hieroglyphics of 
ancient Egypt indicate that northern Africa and the region along the 
Nile River were important sources of the gold of the ancient world. 

Australasia 

For many years Australasia was a close rival of the United States as 
a gold producer, frequently outranking this country. Since 1903 there 
has been a rapid decline, and Australasian production in 1917 was less 
than one-half the production of the United States. However, Australasia 
still ranks third and produced 11.3 per cent, of the world's output in 1913 
and about 8.3 per cent, in 1917. 



GOLD 475 

Australia. — Gold was discovered in Australia in 1839 and perhaps 
even as early as 1823. Fearing the unsettling effect of gold-seeking on 
the progress of the colony, the government authorities kept these early 
discoveries a secret for a number of years. In 1851, however, a miner 
recently returned from California, discovered gold near Bathurst, in 
New South Wales, and a rush similar to the Calif ornian rush began. 
Discoveries in other parts of the country followed. The vein deposits 
of Australia occur in two distinct areas, well separated both geographic- 
ally and geologically. The first includes the gold fields of the west and 
northwest and the other lies along the great Eastern Cordillera of Aus- 
tralia and stretches northward from Tasmania through Victoria, New 
South Wales, and Queensland. 

For many years Victoria, the smallest of the states, was the largest 
producer of gold, and up to 1908 had produced about half of the total 
output of the commonwealth. Among the earlier returns were some of 
the largest nuggets known. With the discovery in 1892 of the sensa- 
tional field of Coolgardie, in Western Australia, a state previously be- 
lieved to be without mineral wealth, Victoria dropped to second place. 
Kalgoorlie is the chief town and center of the gold-mining area in Western 
Australia. 

Queensland ranks next to Victoria. A disastrous rush occurred in 
1858, and 15,000 to 20,000 men were left starving on the banks of the 
Fitzroy River. The men were rescued by steamers sent by the govern- 
ments of New South Wales and Victoria. A few years later alluvial gold 
was found near Peak Down, Clermont, to the present day the principal 
placer region of Queensland. Charters Towers, the present leading field 
of the state, was discovered in 1872. The Mount Morgan mine is an 
isolated mine lying not far from the scene of the ill-fated rush of 1858. 
It is by far the most productive mine of Queensland, both in gold and 
copper. New South Wales, although the first Australian state to yield 
gold in any important quantity, now ranks fourth. Tasmania and South 
Australia produce only a small amount of gold. 

New Zealand. — In 1852, the year following the rich discoveries in 
Australia, gold dust and gold enclosed in quartz were found in New Zea- 
land, about 40 miles from Auckland, but this discovery proved to be of 
little importance. Ten years later the rich placers of Gabriel's Gully 
were discovered, a discovery which attracted a rush from the Australian 
fields. The gold fields of New Zealand may be divided into three well- 
defined and well-separated areas: the Huaraki gold field, which contains 
valuable vein deposits but no placers; the West Coast area, in which the 
vein and alluvial occurrences are of equal importance; and the Otago 
area, in which the auriferous alluvial gravels are important and the few 
known quartz veins have little economic value. 

Some gold is produced in other parts of Australasia, notably in the 



476 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

British and Dutch East Indies, and in British New Guinea. Deposits 
of little importance are reported in New Caledonia, the Fiji Islands, and 
in the former German New Guinea. 



PROBABLE CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 
IN THE NEAR FUTURE 

Specific predictions regarding changes in the geographical distribution 
of the sources of the world's gold seem valueless. During the last few 
years the gold production of the principal fields has decreased. Aside 
from any decline due to the war and the attending scarcity of labor and 
high mining costs, it seems probable that the gold output of the world 
has reached its zenith and that further decline is to be expected unless 
new ore bodies are added to known reserves or unless some revolutionary 
method of extracting gold from the low-grade ores is discovered. 

Although the leading fields, South Africa, the United States, and 
Australia, seem to have reached or passed their period of greatest output, 
there are a number of fields in unsettled and unexplored regions of the 
world which may be expected to show increased production. The 
possibilities of Siberia have already been mentioned, and it is the opinion 
of many engineers that this region will eventually rival South Africa. 
South America has produced an enormous quantity of gold, chiefly 
alluvial, and is expected to yield an increased output in the future. The 
future of South Africa is problematical. 

During the last half century the greatly increased gold production 
has been due largely to the exploitation of the low-grade properties, this 
being made possible by improvements in mining and metallurgy. It 
seems, however, that this development has reached a point where ex- 
cessive labor costs prevent the use of ores of a still lower grade. 

In general, therefore, the gold output of the world may be expected 
to remain static or to decline, at least until the level of prices is so changed 
that it is considered profitable to expend capital in the prospecting 
and developing of regions hitherto unexplored. 

POLITICAL CONTROL 

The political control may be summarized as follows : 

Percentage of 
Country 1913 production 

British Empire 62. 9 

United States 19. 3 

Russia and Siberia 5.8 

Japan 1.8 

France 1.4 

Belgium 0.2 

Central Powers . 55 

Mexico 4.2 

Other Countries 3.7 



GOLD 477 

Great Britain controlled politically 62.9 per cent, of the 1913 produc- 
tion, through state sovereignty over the Transvaal, Australia, Rhodesia, 
Canada, and India. Other British possessions contributing small 
amounts to the world output are British Honduras, British Guiana, 
British West Africa, British New Guinea, New Zealand, British East 
Indies, Egypt, and the British Isles. All gold produced in the British 
Empire must be sent to England. 

The United States controlled politically 19.3 per cent, of the 1913 
output, practically all of which came from continental United States. 
The Philippine Islands and Porto Rico produced small amounts. 

Russia is one of the principal contributors to the world's gold supply, 
producing 5.8 per cent, of the 1913 output. Most of this 5.8 per cent, 
came from the mines of Siberia, and the political control of that region is 
still unsettled. Mexico, with an output equal to 4.2 per cent, of the world 
total, was the largest producer among the neutral powers during the war. 
France controlled 1.4 per cent, of the world total, a third coming from 
the mines in France and the remainder from the French colonies in South 
America and Africa. Japan controlled 1.8 per cent., 1 per cent, coming 
from the Japanese islands and Formosa, and the remainder from Korea. 
The rest of the 1913 production, amounting to about 4 per cent., was 
widely scattered, and was controlled by a number of nations of South 
America, Europe and Asia. 

It should be pointed out that although Great Britain and the United 
States control politically the important producing fields of the present, 
all of which seem to have reached their maximum output, the control 
of the fields expected to be important producers in the future is in different 
hands. 

During the war, particularly during its later months, most of the 
belligerent nations and some of the neutrals placed restrictions on the ex- 
portation of gold, either as bullion or in manufactured form. In normal 
times gold is allowed to flow freely between nations, as needed to settle 
international trade balances. 

COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

The commercial control of the gold resources of the world is shown in 
Table 68 and in Figure 20. In examining the table and the diagram the 
reader should remember that the figures and percentages are at best 
only estimates. Most gold mines are owned by companies whose shares 
are bearer's shares; these are bought and sold in the stock markets of 
many financial centers. Today the control may be in the hands of one 
group, tomorrow in the hands of another. Because of this ever-changing 
ownership, it is difficult to determine the nationality of the commercial 
control, particularly when there is any attempt to conceal the nationality 
of the capital invested. Table and diagram, however, are believed to be 



478 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



approximately correct. The information upon which they are based 
was obtained from mining manuals, the reports of mining companies, 
the reports of consular agents in the various countries, and by personal 
interviews with mining engineers. 



POLITICAL 
COHTROL 
(Based on 1913 Production) 

Other Countries 



m 



Japan. 
*8,0t/,SOO 
18% 



UHITEP 

STATES 

* 88,884,000 

/9.3% 



'4.2'% 



RUSS/A \ K BeJg, 
$26,507,800^' 
5.8% 



* 77,438,100 -3.7% 
Mexico 
a Central Powers, 8 2,568,600 
055% 
ium/9/6,600-0.2% 
France*6,70i,600-i.4 % 



BRITISH 

EMPIRE 

$283,603,700 

62.3% 



COMMERCIAL 
CONTROL 
fBasedon 19/7 Production) 

^Ofner Countries, $12,048,556-2.83% 
''Meticoyoo, 000 -0.21 % 



/zTsoooOO"- Ventral Powers/^ 3,461800-0.8/ % 
J s.6'Q/o ^Befaium. *2J20. 000 -0.57% 



UHITEP 

STA TES 

$98,133,165 

23% 



BRITISH 
EMPIRE 

$264,477,679 
63% 



Belgium, $2,120, 000 -0.57% 
"'Japan, *Z539, 200 -1.7% 
^uss/a^ 39,000,000 -?./ % 



Total. $439, 941, 100 Total $425, 486, 400 

Includes 79/3 Production 
for Germany, A us tr/'a, 
Turkey & Servia 
Fig. 20. — Political and commercial control of the gold production of the world. 

Table 68 may be summarized as follows: 

Commercial Control of Gold Resources 

Percentage of 
Country 1917 production 

British Empire 63 . 

United States 23 . 

France 5.6 

Russia 2.1 

Japan 1.7 

China 0. 84 

Belgium 0.5 

Brazil 0.07 

Germany 0. 81 

Mexico 0.21 

Unclassified 1.9 



GOLD 479 

It is interesting to note that political control and commercial control 
are closely identical in the case of the British Empire and the United 
States. French control is much more important commercially than 
politically. In other countries, little domestic capital is available, and 
political control is much greater than commercial control. 

Commercial control, if different from political control, joins in a test 
of strength with it in periods of emergency or unrest, with the result that 
the stronger subdues the weaker. As regards governments that are 
strong and stable enough, the recent war has demonstrated that the 
elimination of foreign capital invested in a country is easy. The United 
States and Great Britain, in particular, have taken over a great number of 
companies formerly owned by German interests. Where the govern- 
ment is not so strong, however, the commercial control, backed in many 
instances by the more vigorous home governments from which the 
invested capital comes, wins the day, and political events are thus deter- 
mined, even to the extent of overturning the weaker government. Thus 
the overturning of the Boer government and the birth of British South 
Africa was the result of the clash between British commercial control 
and Boer political control. 

The question of the control of gold stocks is discussed in the report of the 
gold committee of the Department of the Interior. l The control of stocks 
in 1916 is shown graphically in Figure 21 and is discussed more in detail 
in the section following, " Position of Leading Commercial Nations." 

The gold mines of the United States are controlled mainly by American 
capital. A few of the mines are predominantly British, and shares in 
other mining companies are undoubtedly held in London, but the total 
production controlled by Great Britain is small. It has been estimated 
that in recent years 95 per cent* of the annual output was controlled by 
Americans and the remainder by British. 

Over half of the gold mined in Canada comes from the Province of 
Ontario, chiefly from the Porcupine district. In 1917 and 1918, the 
Hollinger mine, owned by the Hollinger Gold Mines, Ltd., was the main 
producer. It is one of the greatest gold mines in the world, having paid 
over $9,000,000 in dividends up to the end of 1918. The control of the 
company is held in the United States. Another mine of importance in the 
Porcupine district is the Mclntyre, owned by the Mclntyre Porcupine 
Mines, Ltd., also American. In the Province of* British Columbia, the 
greatest producing camp is Rossland, operated by the Consolidated 
Mining & Smelting Co., controlled by United States and Canadian 
capital. It has been estimated that about two-thirds of the gold mines 
of Canada are controlled by United States capital and the remaining one - 
third by British capital, including Canadian. 

1 Report of the committee appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to study 
the gold situation. 



480 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



Table 68. — Financial Control of the 

(Percentages are 



Country 


Production 

1917 
(in dollars) 


1917 Production 


United 

States 


United 
Kingdom 


France 


Belgium 


Japan 


North America: 

United States 


$83,750,700 

15,200,000 

9,000,000 

3,122,000 

4,600 

115,000 

200,000 

2,958,000 

6,200,000 

600,000 

400,000 

1,500,000 

1,300,000 

1,357,000 

12,179,000 

700,000 

U35.600 

5,000 

2,000 

18,000,000 

1328,000 

10,000 

1500 


$79,563,165 

10,000,000 

2,700,000 

750,000 


$4,187,535 
5,200,000 
3,600,000 

750,000 


















$900,000 






Central America 






South America: 




















Chile 


200,000 










Brazil 


2,662,200 
3,000,000 

600,000 
125,000 








Colombia 


620,000 


900,000 


$620,000 




Guiana: 

British 




Dutch 




125,000 
1,500,000 






French 










1,300,000 








Other S. America . . . 










Europe: 

Austria- Hungary . . . 












France 






700,000 






Germany 










Great Britain 




5,000 








Italy 














9,000,000 








Serbia 










Sweden 












Turkey 

























Production in 1913. Later figures not available. 



GOLD 



481 



Gold Production of the World, 1917 

only approximate) 



controlled financially by — 




China 


Russia 


Brazil 


Total Allies 


Germany 


Mexico 


Unclassi- 
fied 


Remarks 








$83,750,700 

15,200,000 

7,200,000 

1,500,000 








95 per cent, by 
United States capi- 
tal; 5 per cent, by 
British. 

66 per cent, by 
United States capi- 
tal; 33 per cent, 
by British. 




















$900,000 


$900,000 










$1,622,000 

4,600 
115,000 


British40per 
cent.; United 
States 30 per cent. ; 
French 10 per 
cent. ; German 10 
per cent, and Mex- 
ican 10 per cent. 

50 per cent, by na- 
tives; 25 per cent, 
each by United 
States and Great 
Britain. 
































200,000 
2,958,000 

5,140,000 

600,000 

250,000 

1,500,000 

1,300,000 












$295,800 








90 per cent, by Brit- 
ish capital. 

Capital control: 50 
per cent. British; 
15 per cent. 
French; 10 per 
cent. Belgian; 10 
per cent. United 
States; and 15 per 
cent, local. 










1,060,000 






















150,000 










1 




























1,357,000 












12,179,000 












700,000 














1135,600 














5,000 


















2,000 






$9,000,000 




18,000,000 






Large part of Rus- 
sian production 
probably con- 
trolled by German 
capital. Situation 
uncertain. 








1328,000 

10,000 

1500 













































31 



482 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



Country 


Production 

1917 
(in dollars) 


1917 production 




United 
States 


United 
Kingdom 


France 


Be'gium 


Japan 


Asia: 


$3,600,000 
4,444,000 

2,818,000 

342,300 

50,000 

5,595,200 

10,756,800 

35,945,500 

2,000,000 

150,000 

1253,200 

1,000,000 

14,988,600 

186,254,256 

7,435,488 
2,785,656 












Chosen (Korea) .... 


$2,500,000 








$1,944,000 




$2,100,000 
342,300 






Federated Malay 














$50,000 














5,595,200 


India and British 




10,756,800 
35,945,500 
















Africa: 

Belgian Congo 

Egypt and Sudan . . 


500,000 




1,500,000 




150,000 














Madagascar 






1,000,000 








14,988,600 
167,629,256 

7,435,488 










18,625,000 






West Africa (British) 
Undistributed 
















$422,590,100 
$425,486,400 












Total (1917) 

Total (including 1913 
figures) 


$98,133,165 


$268,477,679 


$23,800,000 


$2,120,000 


$7,539,200 


Per cent, of world 
production 


100 


23 


63 


5.6 


0.5 


1.7 



1 Production in 1913. Later figures not available. 



GOLD 



483 



controlled financially by — 




China 


Russia 


Brazil 


Total Allies 


Germany 


Mexico 


' Unclassi- 
fied 


Remarks 


$3,600,000 






$3,600,000 
4,444,000 

2,100,000 

342,300 

50,000 

5,595,200 

10,756,800 

35,945,500 

2,000,000 
150,000 




! 


Probably control'ed 
largely by Japan- 
ese and other for- 
eign capital. 

Part of production 
credited to Japan 
controlled by Brit- 
ish. 

























$718,000 




































































Before war consid- 














erable capital con- 
trolled by Ger- 
m a n s. Small 
blocks now owned 
by Dutch and 
Belgians. 

25 per cent, by 
American capital. 




















1253,200 














1,000,000 

14,988,600 

186,254,256 

7,435,488 
















































led in large part by 
German interests. 
At present : British, 
90 per cent.; 
French, 10 per 
cent. 
Probably all con- 
trolled by British 
capital. 












2,785,656 
















$3,600,000 


$9,000,000 


$295,800 


$412,965,844 


$3,467,800 


$900,000 


$8,152,756 




0.84 


2.1 


0.07 


96.81 


0.81 


0.21 


1.9 





484 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



The gold mines of Mexico are owned by British, American and French 
capital in the order named. The principal mining companies of the El 
Oro district, the leading gold district of the republic, are El Oro Mining 
& Railway Co., Ltd., Esperanza, Ltd., and the Dos Estrellas Mining 
Co. British capital controls El Oro Mining & Railway Co., Ltd., and 51 
per cent, of the shares of Esperanza, Ltd., the remaining 49 per cent, 
being controlled by Americans. The French have been acquiring control 
of mining properties in El Oro district in recent years. They now own 
Dos Estrellas Mining Co., and the Mexico Mines of El Oro, Ltd. Both 
companies were previously controlled in London. The Dolores mine, in 




Allies, * 6,379,556,000 -80.48 Percent 

Central Pbwers 1,301,570,000-/6.32 » 
neutrals 228,989,000-2.8 » 

TOTAL CIRCL £ $1910, 065, OOO 

Fig. 21. — Stocks of gold in banks, public treasuries and in circulation in principal countries 

of the world in 1916. 

the western part of the State of Chihuahua, one of the famous gold mines 
of Mexico, is owned by the Mines Company of America, an American 
corporation. 

In the State of Durango, the gold mines, most of which also produce 
silver, are owned by the American Smelting & Refining Co. (American), 
the Bacis Gold & Silver Mines Co. (British), and the Inde Gold Mining 
Co. (American). Most of the gold-silver mines of the State of Guana- 
juato have been developed by American capital. The State of Sinaloa 
is becoming a gold-producing region; the Palmarito mines of the Mocorito 
district and the Minas de Tajo at Rosario are owned by American inter- 



GOLD 485 

ests. Gold is found in the copper ores of Sonora. Most of the mines of 
the district are controlled by Americans. 

The mines of Chihuahua, Hidalgo, and Zacatecas are primarily 
silver mines but their ores carry some gold. In Chihuahua, American 
capital is probably predominant, with British ranking second. During 
recent years, German interests, through the American Metal Co. and 
its subsidiaries, have been acquiring control of properties in Chihuahua 
and in other parts of Mexico. German capital is also invested in Zaca- 
tecas, the main company being controlled by A. Goerz & Co., Ltd. The 
mines of the State of Hidalgo, the leading silver-producing district of 
Mexico, are owned by American, British and Mexican capital. 

The gold mines of Central America 1 are of some importance at present, 
and production may increase somewhat in the future. The mines are 
owned for the most part by American and British capital, in the order 
named. Subsidiaries of the United Fruit Co., and the Tonopah Mining 
Co., both American, operate properties in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. 

In Colombia, the leading gold-producing country of South America, 
most of the large companies are British, the most important being the 
Pato Mines, the Nechi Mines, and the Frontino and Bolivia Mines. A 
Belgian company, the Platinum & Gold Concessions of Colombia, Ltd., 
and a French company, the San Antonio Gold Mines Co., Ltd., have 
recently acquired gold-mining concessions. American capital is also in- 
vested in the industry. 

The two most important mining companies of Brazil, the St. John 
del Rey Mining Co., Ltd., and the Ouro Preto Gold Mines of Brazil, 
Ltd., are under British management. Some French capital is interested 
in the latter property. Most of the mines of French Guiana are controlled 
by French companies. In the remaining South American countries gold 
mining is of comparatively little importance. Production is controlled 
largely by British and American capital. 

The foreign capital invested in the mines of Siberia and Russia is 
mainly British, though Germany is known to have been much interested 
in the industry. Some Russian capital, especially that furnished by 
the large Russian banks, was invested in Siberian mining properties. 
The mining laws of the old Russian Empire provided that mineral prop- 
erties could be held both by foreign and Russian companies under con- 
cessions or leases granted by the crown or under leases from Russian 
estates. In many cases foreign capitalists formed holding companies to 
acquire a controlling interest in a Russian company in whose name the 
property was held and operated. Most of these holding companies had 
their main offices in London and most of the directors were British citi- 

1 " Investments in Latin America and the British West Indies," Special Agent 
Series No. 169, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, U. S. Department of 
Commerce, 1918. 



486 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

zens. Control was apparently British. The shares of the companies 
were bearers' shares, however, and were traded in extensively on the 
Petrograd exchange. 

The most important gold-mining district of Siberia is in the Province 
of Irkutsk, on the Lena River. A Russian company, the Lenskoie 
Gold Industrial Co., has been operating the principal properties of this 
district since 1863. The directors of the company are Russian Jews. 
A British company, the Lena Goldfields, Ltd., held 70 per cent, of the 
shares of the Lenskoie Co., but in 1917 completed the sale of 51,000 shares 
of stock to a Petrograd group including the Imperial Foreign Corporation, 
Ltd., and the Russian and English Bank. The Lena Goldfields, Ltd., 
now owns less than 10 per cent, of the Lenskoie stock. 

A pyrite-copper mine yielding enough gold as a by-product to make 
the profit is located in the government of Perm, southern district of 
the Ural Mountains, and is owned by the Kyshtim Mining Works, a 
Russian company controlled by the Kyshtim Corporation, Ltd., of 
London. The company holds a large concession, including forests, 
farms, and mineral land. The control of the Kyshtim Corporation 
is apparently British. 

The Tanalyk Corporation is controlled by practically the same 
interests as those controlling the Kyshtim Corporation and was organized 
to acquire entire control of the South Urals Mining & Smelting Co. 
The property of the company, situated in the County of Orsk, Orenburg 
government, southern Urals, is only a prospect and has not been fully 
developed. It includes a total area of 28,350 acres of timber and mineral 
land. The ore contains copper, gold, and silver, the copper content being 
the most valuable. During 1917, the shares held in the Kyshtim Mining 
Works and the South Urals Mining & Smelting Co. were vested in the 
Canadian Development Corporation, Ltd., a company registered in 
Canada, probably for the purpose of escaping the high British income 
taxes. The transfer involved no change of control, as the two British 
holding companies, the Kyshtim Corporation and the Tanalyk Corpora- 
tion, Ltd., control the Canadian company. 

The Kolchan placer property, in the Okhotsk mining province of 
Eastern Siberia, has been leased, for a royalty based on the gross output 
of gold, by the Orsk Goldfields, Ltd., a British company, from the Russo- 
Asiatic Bank. The Orsk Goldfields, Ltd., originally controlled a gold- 
mining property in the Province of Orenburg, southern Urals, but aban- 
doned the lease and option. 

A great deal of gold is produced in Siberia as a by-product of copper, 
lead, and zinc mines. The control of these mines is much the same as 
the control of the above-mentioned gold properties — British with Russian 
shareholders, chiefly representative of Russian banks. 

Japanese control is being expanded, especially in eastern Siberia. 



GOLD 487 

It was reported in the Japanese press, in November, 1918, that the 
Japanese special financial mission was planning the establishment of a 
Japan-Russian partnership enterprise similar to the Japan-China In- 
dustrial Association for the purpose of obtaining from the Russian 
authorities rights in the Siberian mining and forest areas and of ex- 
ploiting the natural resources of Siberia. It was proposed that among 
the investors in the partnership should be included Russian capitalists, 
the South Manchurian Railway, the East Asia Development Co., 
the Japan-China Mercantile Association, and capitalists of the Entente 
countries. 

Practically all of the output of India comes from the mines of the 
Kolar reef of Mysore. There are six large producing companies, as 
follows: Champion Reefs Mining Co., of India, Ltd.; Gold Fields of 
Mysore and General Exploration, Ltd.; Mysore Gold Mining Co., 
Ltd.; Nundydroog Co., Ltd.; Balaghat Gold Mining Co., Ltd.; and Oore- 
gum Gold Mining Co. of India, Ltd. The companies are all British 
and are owned by closely connected interests. Other operating com- 
panies in India are the Hutti^ (Nizam's) Gold Mines, Ltd., of Hyderabad, 
southern India; and the Northern Anantapur Gold Mines, Ltd., and 
Jibutil (Anantapur) Gold Mines, Ltd., Madras Presidency, all being 
British companies. 

In Japan the state reserves to itself the right of original ownership 
in all ores, and grants to individuals or companies the right to work the 
deposits. Under the law of 1890, a foreigner was disqualified from work- 
ing a mine and was not permitted to become a member of a mining estab- 
lishment, so that the right of working mines was exclusively reserved for 
Japanese subjects. By an amendment of the mining regulations in 
1900, business establishments organized by Japanese or foreigners or by 
both are now permitted to work mines, provided such establishments 
are placed under Japanese laws. A bill was recently introduced into 
the Japanese Parliament proposing to grant the privilege of mining and 
property rights to foreigners. Japanese capital has almost complete 
control of the gold mines of the empire. 

The principal gold mines are owned by the following companies: 
Tanak Chobei (Formosa), Mitsubishi & Co. (Sado), Shimadzu Tada- 
shige (Satsuma), Fujita & Co. (Rikuchu and Formosa), Kimura Kintaro 
(Formosa), and Ushio Gold Mine Co. (Satsuma). 

The most valuable of the mineral concessions of Chosen (Korea), 
including gold, are in the hands of foreign companies, the majority of 
which are American. The Oriental Consolidated Mining Co., an 
American company, controls the Unsan mines in North Pyong-an 
Province, northwestern Korea, the most important gold-producing 
property of the country. The concession includes 600 square miles 
on the Anju River and has about 21 years to run, with the option of 



488 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

renewal for 15 years. The operating company pays $15,000 annually 
to the Korean government. Ore reserves were estimated on July 1, 
1916, at 852,000 tons, valued at $4,823,000. 

The Chiksan mines, in South Choonchong Province, are also managed 
by American capital. The Suan mines, in Whanghai Province, were 
originally controlled by a British company but have been leased to an 
American company. An Italian company owns mines in North Pyong-an 
Province, and a British company is operating in North Choonchong 
Province. A German company owned mines, not in full working order, 
in North Pyong-an Province, but the properties have doubtless been 
seized by the Japanese government. Japanese and Korean miners own 
and operate the smaller mines of the country, the output of which has 
decreased greatly during recent years. 

Although the gold output of China in 1917 amounted to $3,600,000, 
the deposits are small and widely scattered and are owned and operated 
almost exclusively by the native miners. Some of the larger mines have 
been financed by the governments of the provinces. In some provinces 
the owners of mining property are not permitted to seek investments of 
foreign capital unless they are unable to finance the property within the 
province. Prospecting has been carried on in many parts of the. country 
in recent years, but no deposits have been discovered sufficiently promis- 
ing to attract foreign investors. In view of their activity in developing 
the other natural resources of China, it is probable that the Japanese 
will attempt to control the industry should any important deposits be 
discovered. 

In the Transvaal all minerals belong to the government and not to the 
owners of the surface of the land. When gold, or any other mineral, is 
discovered, a part of the territory (less than half) is reserved for the owner 
of the land, another part for the discoverer of the mineral, and the re- 
mainder is open to location. At present the ownership of mineral lands is 
being retained by the government. The right to exploit the mineral 
wealth is granted on a lease to the highest bidder, the bids being based 
upon a percentage of profits, graded according to working costs and grade 
of ore. A tax of 10 per cent, on profits, allowing for amortization of 
capital, is levied on all gold-mining properties. 

Before the war, practically all the gold mines of the Witwatersrand 
were controlled by British and German capital. The first American 
company entered the field in 1917 and some French capital has also been 
invested. The German position was strong, as the German companies 
controlled half, and perhaps more, of the capital invested in gold mines. 
The report of the South African Custodian of Enemy Property issued 
early in 1918 showed that no less than 26,000 enemy shareholders in gold, 
coal, and other mining concerns in the Union owned stock to the ag- 
gregate nominal value of $37,500,000. As gold is by far the most 



GOLD 489 

important mineral of the Transvaal, it is probable that the greater part 
of this German capital was invested in gold mines. The enemy firms 
were wound up or went into voluntary liquidation, and enemy shares 
in mining corporations to the face value of $24,000,000 were taken charge 
of by the Custodian of Enemy Property. 1 

The control of the gold mines of the Transvaal is centered in the 
following six companies: Central Mining & Investment Corporation, 
the Consolidated Mines Selection Co., Johannesburg Consolidated In- 
vestment Co., the Consolidated Goldfields of South Africa, the Union 
Corporation (formerly Ed Goerz & Co.), and the General Mining & 
Finance Corporation. The last two companies were absolutely Ger- 
man before the war. The Central Mining & Investment Corporation 
controls probably 50 per cent, of the output of the district. American 
capital is interested in the Consolidated Mines Selection Co. Another 
American company, the Anglo-American Corporation of South Africa, 
Ltd., was registered at Pretoria on September 25, 1917, with an issued 
capital of £1,000,000. The immediate object of the corporation is to 
participate in tendering for leases of certain Far East Rand gold-mining 
areas. 2 

It has been reported that French capital controls about 10 per cent, 
of the annual output. For many years the majority of the mining engi- 
neers in the Transvaal were Americans. 

The Germans had not only acquired a considerable control through 
the investment of capital in mining properties, but they also exercised 
control through their trade in mine supplies. Orenstein- Arthur Koppel 
Co. had established an important trade in rails, mine trucks, and similar 
supplies, and continued to do business even after the beginning of the war. 
Soon after the sinking of the Lusitania, a mob destroyed the offices of 
the company in Johannesburg and burned a stock of much-needed supplies. 
At the outbreak of the war it was feared that there might be serious 
obstacles in the way of the gold-mining industry continuing a normal 
course, because of the possible difficulty in obtaining enough of the cy- 
anide, mercury, and zinc used in gold extraction, much of which had been 
previously supplied by Germany. The necessary materials were ob- 
tained from other sources, however. 

Rhodesia is controlled by the British South African Co., organized 
by Cecil John Rhodes, for whom the colony was named. The company 
is entirely British; it is the government, levies the taxes, administers the 
laws, and controls the mining industry. Companies and individuals are 
permitted to locate mining claims much the same as they are in Cali- 
fornia. The Goldfields Rhodesian Development Co., which has large 
Rhodesian mining interests, is an offshoot of the Consolidated Goldfields 
of South Africa. It is safe to say that the gold mines of Rhodesia are 

1 " Engineering and Mining Journal," May 11, 1918, p. 888. 

2 U. S. Commerce Reports, December 15, 1917, p. 1033. 



490 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

owned and worked entirely by British capital. A percentage tax is 
levied on the output of the gold mines. 

In Australia, before the war, much the same conditions existed as in 
South Africa. The large gold-mining companies were seemingly British; 
their headquarters were either in Australia or in London and their 
directors and managers were British. It is certain, however, that a 
considerable amount of German capital was invested in the companies. 
Among the important producing companies are the Associated Gold 
Mines of Western Australia, Great Boulder Proprietary Mines, Ltd., 
Golden Horseshoe Estates Co., Ltd., Ivanhoe Gold Corporation, Ltd., 
all of Western Australia; the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Co., of Queens- 
land; the Mount Boppy Gold Mining Co., and the Mount Lyell Mining 
& Railway Co., Ltd., of Tasmania. 

Through the vigorous action of the Australian prime minister, Wil- 
liam M. Hughes, German capital was expelled early in the war from all 
the industries of the commonwealth, including gold, lead, and zinc 
mines, smelters and refineries, and buying organizations. In January, 
1916, to safeguard the financial position of the commonwealth, the 
prime minister issued decrees providing that no new flotations of com- 
panies or increases in the capital of existing companies would be allowed 
without the consent of the treasurer of the commonwealth; that com- 
panies incorporated in Australia would have three months to discontinue 
the holding of their shares by persons of enemy nationality or origin, 
whether naturalized or not ; and that in the future no transfers of shares 
to persons of enemy nationality or origin would be permitted. 1 

The remaining countries of the world are of little importance as gold 
producers; hence a discussion of the commercial control of their mines 
would be of little value. In most of them the mining properties are 
owned and operated by domestic capital, the former Empire of Austria- 
Hungary being one exception to this general statement. Prior to the 
war, British capital controlled gold mines in Transylvania. 

The ownership of smelters and reduction plants has little influence 
upon the commercial control of the gold industry. Most of the large 
gold-mining companies have their own refineries at the mines, and smelter 
control is therefore identical with mine control. Some gold is produced 
as a by-product in the smelting of lead, silver, and copper, particularly 
in the United States, where the smelters are controlled almost entirely 
by American capital. Further discussion of the commercial control of 
smelters and refineries will be found in Chapters XIV, XV, and XXX. 

The control of secret processes and patents is of less importance in 
the commercial control of the gold-mining industry than that of any other 
mineral. The industry is peculiar in that the price of gold is always 
fixed and there is no competition for a market. Control of an improved 

1 U. S. Commerce Reports, February 21, 1916, p. 733. 



GOLD 491 

method of extracting or refining gold might enable one company to reduce 
mining and refining costs and thus insure a larger profit, but giving the 
improved process to a second company would not necessarily reduce the 
profits of the company that had discovered it. 

POSITION OF LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS 

The United States controlled politically through state sovereignty 
19.3 per cent, of the gold production in 1913, ranking next to Great 
Britain. Commercial control was somewhat greater, amounting to 
approximately 23 per cent, of the 1917 production. The mines of the 
United States are owned almost exclusively by Americans, and American 
capital is invested in many foreign fields. Over half, perhaps as much as 
two-thirds, of the mines of Canada are owned by United States corpora- 
tions. The largest of the Korean companies are owned or managed by 
American capital. Two American companies were established recently 
in the Transvaal. Probably 30 to 40 per cent, of the gold produced in 
Mexico in normal times comes from the United States owned mines. The 
production of Central and South America, although at present relatively 
unimportant, is largely controlled by Americans. 

Although outranked in production by Great Britain, the United 
States controls by far the largest stocks of gold coin and bullion of any 
nation. In 1916 there was in the banks, the national treasuries, and in 
circulation in the United States $2,299,454,000, or almost twice the 
amount possessed by any other nation. In 1918 this amount had in- 
creased to $3,050,000,000. The monetary reserve probably exceeds the 
total gold output of the United States since the recording of statistics of 
production began. 

In view of the fact that the national debt of the United States is low 
as compared with the debts of the other principal nations, the financial 
system of this country is on a relatively sound basis. When the time 
comes to redeem the outstanding bonds and other forms of indebtedness 
that have accrued during the war, the United States will undoubtedly 
be in a more favorable position than any of the other belligerents. 

The stocks of gold in the chief gold-producing countries in 1916 are 
shown diagrammatically in Figure 21. 

Great Britain is the leading gold-producing nation of the world. The 
British Empire controlled politically 62.9 per cent, of the 1913 production, 
and British commercial control approximated 63 per cent. An insignifi- 
cant amount of gold is produced in the British Isles, but the empire 
includes such important gold producers as South Africa, Australia, 
Rhodesia, India, and Canada. British capital also controls gold mines 
in Siberia, in Mexico, in South America, and in the United States. 

Despite the large political and commercial control exercised by the 



492 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

British, the gold stocks of the British Empire have been much smaller 
than those of the United States and in 1916 were surpassed by those of 
France. 

The lands under French control produce little gold, the output in 1913 
being only 1.4 per cent, of the world's total production. Less than 0.5 
per cent, came from France itself and the remainder was obtained from 
French Guiana and Madagascar. French capital has not stopped at 
national boundaries, however, and has been invested in many of the 
principal fields, as is shown by the fact that commercial control amounted 
to 5.6 per cent, of the 1917 production. In Mexico at least 10 per cent, 
of the capital controlling gold mines is French, and the amount is steadily 
increasing. In South America — particularly in Colombia, and Dutch and 
French Guiana — some of the large companies are French, but most of the 
gold controlled commercially by the French comes from the Transvaal. 
It has been estimated that French interests control about 10 per cent, of 
the production of South Africa since German control has been eliminated. 
The gold reserve of France was large before the war and ranked second to 
that of the United States in 1916. It is now (1920) reduced to very small 
proportions. 

Although Russia, with Siberia, is one of the most promising potential 
sources of the future gold supply and produced 5.8 per cent, of the total in 
1913, Russian capital seemingly controls only a small part of the gold 
production of the world. The British are most active in Siberia, and 
French interests are known to have acquired property there. So far as 
is known, Russian capitalists control no gold deposits in foreign countries. 
In 1916 the gold reserve in Russian banks, treasuries, and in circulation 
amounted to $1,058,000,000, but it is not known what has become of this 
stock since the Bolshevists have been in control. At present the total 
is probably much smaller. 

Japan controls only a small part of the gold output of the world, either 
politically or commercially. Some gold is obtained from Japan and 
Formosa, all of which is probably under Japanese financial control. The 
output of Korea, claimed by the Japanese as a part of their empire since 
1910 and at present attempting to secure its independence, is controlled 
by Americans and other nationalities. The smaller mines are owned by 
Japanese, but the larger concessions were granted to foreigners by the 
old Korean government prior to 1910. Gold stocks of Japan were 
estimated at $143,128,000 in 1916. By December 26, 1918, they had 
increased to $225,820,000, In addition Japanese had on deposit in 
London, New York, and Paris a total of about $550,000,000. 

The gold production controlled, either politically or commercially, 
by Germany and the countries of the former empire of Austria-Hungary is 
relatively insignificant, amounting in both cases to less than 1 per cent. 
Germany has produced annually in its European territory a little over 



GOLD 493 

$100,000, and its only colony yielding an appreciable amount was German 
East Africa, lost during the war. The mines of Austria-Hungary have 
been important in the past, but they are now very old and in 1913 pro- 
duced only 0.5 per cent, of the world's total production. It is under- 
stood that one of the largest operating companies in Transylvania before 
the war was British. 

SUMMARY 

The principal and most essential uses of gold are as a measure of value 
and a medium of exchange. Gold is also used in dentistry, and in the arts 
for jewelry, gilding, and other forms of ornamentation. In an emergency 
other materials can be substituted for the latter uses, but any consider- 
able substitution for the principal uses would involve radical changes in 
our monetary and financial system. 

Gold is found in rocks of all geological ages from Archean to Quatern- 
ary, and also in minute quantities in ocean water. Only the more con- 
centrated deposits can be worked profitably. It is believed that the 
production from the present main deposits has reached its zenith, but 
further important discoveries will probably be made in the Arctic regions, 
in the tropics, or in other regions hitherto unexplored by man. Siberia, 
South America, and perhaps China are the most promising regions, as 
the more settled lands have been already thoroughly prospected. 

Gold is widely distributed geographically. It is found in all parts 
of the world and commercially important mines are worked in every 
continent. Over 75 per cent, of the total annual output of the world 
comes from four countries, the Transvaal, the United States, Australia, 
and Russia. Other important producers are Rhodesia, Mexico Canada, 
India, West Africa, and New Zealand. Little gold is produced in Europe 
or in South America. The deposits of the former continent, at one time 
important, are becoming exhausted. With improved transportation 
facilities and with further exploration work, the production of South 
America is expected to increase materially. 

Great Britain controls politically over 60 per cent, of the annual 
gold production of the world, through state sovereignty over South 
Africa, Australasia, Rhodesia, Canada, and India. The United States 
ranks second, controlling about 20 per cent. Russia controls about 6 
per cent, and Mexico 4 per cent. The remaining 10 per cent, is controlled 
by many countries, among them being Japan, France, Belgium, and the 
Central Powers. 

The extent of British political and commercial control is almost 
identical, British interests controlling over 60 per cent, of the production 
and owning in addition to the mines in the empire, property in Siberia, 
South and Central America, Mexico, and the United States. United 
States interests control financially about 23 per cent, of the world's 



494 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOG Y 

production. The Korean deposits are predominantly American owned. 
United States capital is also invested in Canada, Mexico, Central and 
South America, and recently in the Transvaal. Although the gold con- 
trolled politically by France is of little importance, French interests 
control commercially about 5.6 per cent, of the total annual production, 
owning mines in the Transvaal, in Mexico, and in Central and South 
America. 

Before the war, German interests had extensive holdings in South 
Africa and Australia. 



CHAPTER XXX 

SILVER 

By F. W. Paine 
USES OF SILVER 

The chief and essential use of silver is as money. This form of con- 
sumption takes place mainly in India and China, where silver serves as a 
basis for the settlement of foreign exchange balances. In China, silver is 
the money standard of the country. In India a gold standard is used, 
but from time immemorial the natives have hoarded silver and invested 
their savings in silver coins and ornaments rather than making use of 
banks, bonds or other securities. Silver is used for subsidiary coinage in 
all countries, but such coins in Europe and the United States can nor- 
mally be replaced to a considerable extent by paper, as they circulate 
at more than their intrinsic value. In Mexico, Peru, and other silver- 
producing countries silver money is extensively used. 

A large amount of silver is used in the arts. To a small degree such 
consumption is for photographic or chemical work but mainly for the 
production of jewelry and luxurious household wares. The use of silver 
jewelry in India is intimately related to silver hoards, the bank balance 
of the natives. Such hoards are now mainly coin, however, because coin 
has become of more stable value than ornaments since India adopted 
the gold standard. Before 1914 it was estimated by the Director of the 
United States Mint that two-thirds of the new silver annually produced 
went into the arts. In 1912, however, coinage absorbed over half of the 
224,310,000 ounces produced by the world. During the war the pay- 
ment by the Allies for goods purchased in the Orient diverted enormous 
stores of silver to India and China. In Europe greater amounts of silver 
coin were needed under war conditions. Moreover, the large issues of 
paper money make corresponding increases in the number of silver coins 
desirable. In 1915 only 20 per cent, of the world's silver was used in the 
arts; in 1916, 15 per cent, was so used, the balance being coined. 

The importance of silver for essential uses during the war is best 
indicated by the fact that old dead stocks of silver coin, United States 
dollars in the Treasury, Manila dollars, etc., had to be called into service. 
A stage not reached was the melting down of silver plate and ornaments. 

495 



496 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

This stage was reached in Germany in the case of gold and probably of 
silver, just as the United States had begun to adopt such a program to 
obtain platinum. During 1916 our exports of silver exceeded $210,000,- 
000, surpassing by $58,000,000 the total copper exports for the same 
period. 

As long as the centuries- old customs of India and China fail to change, 
silver must be considered as ranking with gold as an essential money 
metal of intranational and international trade. 

The large use of silver in the arts, in the period 1900 to 1914, a use 
naturally considered as entirely a luxury, leads to emphasis upon the 
non-essential character of silver consumption as a whole. When the 
European war broke out, prices for silver, in common with most metals 
and other commodities, declined. But silver did not increase in price a 
few months later, as did base metals. Jt was not until the end of 1915 
that silver sold as high as before the war, and during the early part of the 
war it sold so low that producers felt discouraged and regarded silver as, 
in the main, an article of luxury. 

On the other side is the fact that coinage of silver in Europe increased 
tremendously in 1914 and 1915, although it did not seem to offset fully 
the curtailment in manufacture of silverware and jewelry. This need 
for coinage continued during the war at an accelerated rate, just as did 
the demands for munitions and men. The " silver bullet" was impor- 
tant in Europe, but still more essential in bringing supplies from the Far 
East to the battle fronts. This fact is confirmed by the advance in the 
price of silver to substantially twice the pre-war .quotation, and had a 
price not then been fixed the advance would probably have been greater. 
The normal annual silver production of the world is around 159,000,000 
ounces, whereas the actual demand for silver during 1918 exceeded 
500,000,000 ounces. 

All silver used in the arts by no means represents consumption in 
luxuries. Silver enters the essential chemical and photographic industries 
to a considerable degree. At least one-third of the silver consumed in 
the arts before the war represented jewelry used in India, and this use 
is much more a form of investment by the natives than it is in Europe and 
the United States. 

The United States Treasury Department has been much concerned 
over the declining output of gold. Priorities during the war were granted 
to the gold industry to place it in the position of a preferred war industry. 
Silver cannot be considered as being in a different position, although silver 
producers received priorities more as producers of base metals and gold 
than of silver alone. 

The credit and finance of the world is greatly helped by maximum 
gold production, but of little less importance is a large supply of silver, 
for although gold has become the general standard of money, silver is 



SILVER 497 

still, as throughout man's history, one of the two precious or money met- 
als. It is at least a crutch to aid gold. 

In many parts of the world silver ranks equal with or as more impor- 
tant than gold for a money standard. Elsewhere, in countries where paper 
currency is freely accepted by sellers, it is not an essential money metal, 
e.g., in the United States. However, silver with gold helps to support the 
credit and standing of paper money in Europe today, and in countries 
with less elaborate financial systems it directly replaces and so conserves 
gold. 

Silver then is considered to be an essential metal of the world's 
finance, trade, and industry. It belongs with the group of vital mineral 
raw materials and can not be classed with diamonds or other non-essen- 
tial mineral products. 

The unlimited mining and production of silver cannot be considered 
as an end in itself, as Spain found out in the days of the conquerors. 
But the present silver production is not in excess of the real needs. In 
fact there may be expected to be a great shortage of capital because of 
the great destructive effects of the world war. Silver production adds 
to the stock of money, increases confidence in financial conditions and 
furnishes, with and subsidiary to gold, a basis for credit. In the immedi- 
ate future a maximum silver production may be of as great or greater 
importance to the world than ever before. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION 

About one-half of the silver output of the world is obtained as a by- 
product in the winning of other metals, notably lead and copper. Such 
production comes from deposits of all geologic ages. The silver ob- 
tained from high-grade silver ores associated with minor amounts of 
gold or base metals is now derived chiefly from Tertiary deposits. Pre- 
Cambrian deposits are of some importance, e.g. Cobalt, Ontario; but 
the Tertiary is the great source of silver ores. 

The Mexican mines, which are by far the most important as producers 
of silver ores, are associated with Tertiary volcanic rocks. A similar 
association occurs to the south, in Central America, Peru, and Bolivia. 
The deposits of the United States, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, and Mon- 
tana, occur under similar conditions. This is also true of the chief 
worked-out deposits of recent silver-mining history — the Comstock 
Lode. 

A great deal of silver has been mined in Europe in the past, chiefly 
from rich silver deposits which are now largely exhausted. Geologic 
conditions here are obscure, because the mining was completed so long 
ago. 

In the future, Mexico and the Rocky Mountain-Andes Cordillera 

32 



498 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



will be the chief region for the mining of rich silver ores. The pre- Cam- 
brian areas of Canada may continue to be of some importance. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

A generalized table of normal outputs is as follows : 

Table 69. — Present Normal Output of Silver 



Country 


By-product 
silver 


Straight silver 
deposits 


Notes 


Western Hemisphere: 

Mexico and Central America 


12,000,000 

10,000,000 

2,000,000 


60,000,000 
5,000,000 


Tertiary 


Peru and Bolivia 


Tertiary 
Miscellaneous 


Chile 


United States 


23,000,000 


Tertiary 


United States lead ores 


24,000,000 
23,000,000 


Miscellaneous 


United States copper ores 

Canada 




Miscellaneous 


21,000,000 


Pre-Cambrian 


Canada 


4,000,000 


Miscellaneous 








Total Western Hemisphere 


75,000,000 


109,000,000 

4,500,000 
3,000,000 




Eastern Hemisphere: 

Spain 




Austria and Turkey 






India 


5,000,000 

16,000,000 

7,000,000 

2,000,000 


Burma 


Australia 




Broken Hill 


Japan 






Miscellaneous 


1,500,000 








Total Eastern Hemisphere 


30,000,000 


9,000,000 









Summary 



Rich silver mines . 
By-product silver. 

Total 



Total output, 
ounces 

118,000,000 
105,000,000 

223,000,000 



Percentage of 
total output 

53 

47 



100 



Mexico, the great center for rich silver mines, is now producing less 
than one-half of its normal output, due to the unsettled political and social 
conditions. In 1907 the Mexican production declined to 31,000,000 
ounces, a loss of over 50 per cent. Consequently in 1917 the world's 
silver output was only 170,000,000 ounces; and of this amount more 
than one-half was derived as a by-product in refining other metals. 

A striking feature of the distribution of silver deposits is the large 
number of great producing areas in Mexico and the western United States. 
An argentiferous metallographic province is thus indicated; and is well 
shown in the following table : 



SILVER 499 

Table 70. — Geographical Distribution of Silver Deposits, by Regions 



Region 



Proportion from Rocky 

Mountain-Andes 

region 



Normal output 
(ounces) 



Percentage 

of world 

total 



1. Rocky Mountain-Andes Region: 

United States 

Mexico 

Central America 

Peru and Bolivia 

Chile 

Canada 



99 per cent, of total 

All 

All 

All 

All 
16 per cent, of total 



70,000,000 

70,000,000 

2,000,000 

15,000,000 

2,000,000 

4,000,000 



Total., 

2. Cobalt, Ontario 

3. India and Australia (2 mines) 

4. Japan 

5. Miscellaneous 



163,000,000 

21,000,000 

21,000,000 

7,000,000 

11,000,000 



Total for world 



223,000,000 



73 
9.45 

9.45 

3.1 

5.0 

100.00 



The relative geologic age of silver deposits is exhibited in the 
tabulation below: 





Probable 

future output 

(ounces) 


Future 

percentage 

of total 


Present 
proportion 


Tertiary 


170,000,000 

5,000,000 

25,000,000 

15,000,000 

10,000,000 


76 

2 

11 

7 
4 


73.0 


Japanese copper (largely Tertiary) 

India and Australia (age of deposits not stated) . 
Pre-Cambrian 


3.1 

9.45 

9.45 


Unknown 


5.0 






Total 


225,000,000 


100 


100.0 







Examination of the above data shows that by far the greater part 
of the world's silver occurs in the great petrographic and metallographic 
province which forms a bordering zone around the Pacific Ocean, and 
is most productive in the western cordilleras of North and South America. 

CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE 
NEAR FUTURE 

Decreases may occur in Cobalt (Ontario) and in Japan; in Cobalt 
because of exhaustion of ore, in Japan because of lower output of copper 
and lead if prices of these metals fall. The Rocky Mountain-Andes 
output should be maintained relatively at the proportion shown above — 
Mexico being back to normal in this assumption. This Rocky Mountain- 
Andes production is all, or substantially all, associated with Tertiary 
igneous rocks. 



500 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

The above figures allow in part for the increase in Indian output from 
the new Burma mines. 

CHANGES IN PRACTICE 

It is doubtful if silver production will be materially increased in 
the next few years by improvement in metallurgy, milling, or mining 
methods. Silver production is perhaps unique in that a great part of 
the output, produced as a by-product, comes on the market at a rate 
determined more by the volume of lead and copper production than by 
current quotations for silver. Also rich silver mines when discovered 
can be operated at a large profit per ounce. However, high prices for 
silver will stimulate that part of the production which comes from silver 
mines proper. 

The world's production increased over one-third during the period 
of 1904 to 1913. At the same time prices had declined even below the 
1893-1894 figures. The increased output was due to production from 
the United States and from Canada. 

Independent of price, the Cobalt discovery poured silver on the 
market. Independent of price, the increased lead and copper of the 
United States poured by-product silver on the market. 

It seems clear that discoveries of new silver deposits or enlarged 
and improved base-metal mining operations are the factors that will 
influence silver output. Changes in methods of silver recovery and even 
changed silver prices have no tremendous effect. Even the big drop in 
silver prices in the early nineties was accompanied by no decrease in silver 
production. Instead there was an increase. 

POLITICAL CONTROL 

The silver output of the world is divided among the various political 
groups as shown in Table 71 : 

COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

Through Ownership of Mines. — The production of silver in the 
United States is all controlled by United States capital. One-third 
is controlled by lead-mining interests, one-third by copper-mining in- 
terests, and the remaining third by silver miners. Moreover, United 
States capital owns Mexican mining property normally capable of produc- 
ing over half of that country's output. Central American production 
and the by-product silver of Peru are similarly controlled. About one- 
quarter of the Canadian production comes from properties owned in the 
United States. In all, the capital of the United States controls over 
half of the yearly output of silver throughout the world. 

Most of the Canadian and all of the Australian, Indian, and African 
silver is controlled by British capital, as is one-quarter of the Mexican 



SILVER 501 

Table 71. — Production of Silver in 1917 and 1913 



Country 



1917 

production 

(ounces) 



1913 

production 

(ounces) 



1913 

percentage 

of total 



United States 

British Empire (chiefly Canada and Aus 
tralia) 

France 

Italy 

Japan 

Peru 

Central America 

Bolivia 

Russia, Greece, etc 

Mexico 

Chile 

Spain 

Germany, Austria 

Turkey 

Miscellaneous 

Total 



71,740,000 

34,001,000 
235,000 • 
450,000 

106,426,000 

6,922,000 
11,000,000 

2,369,000 

2,434,000 

1,000,000 
31,214,000 

1,673,000 

4,500,000 

1,500,000 plus 

1,700,000 
170,038,000 



66,801,000 

50,429,000 
521,000 
424,000 

118,175,000 
4,716,000 
8,351,000 
2,135,000 
2,410,000 
1,000,000 
70,704,000 
2,000,000 
4,232,000 
7,195,000 
1,509,000 
700,000 

223,126,000 



30.0 

22.6 
0.2 
0.2 

53.0 
2.1 
3.7 
1.0 
1.1 
0.4 

31.7 
0.9 
1.9 
3.2 
0.7 
0.3 

100.00 



production and some from Bolivia, Peru, and Chile. In all, Great 
Britain controls a third of the world's output. 

Germany probably controls close to 10 per cent, of the world's silver 
production. A part of this is produced locally, but the main German 
control is in Mexico, the mines owned by Mexicans being taken as, in the 
main, German properties. 

Mines owned by Japanese, Spanish, French, or Chilean capital are 
responsible for substantially all the remaining 5 per cent, of the world's 
silver output. 

Financial Control Through Ownership of Mines 

Capital 1913 output, 

percentage controlled 

United States 52 

British 33 

German 10 

Japanese 2 

Spanish 2 

French, etc 1 

100 

Through Ownership of Reduction Plants. — As would be expected from 
the geographic location of the silver deposits, the United States and 



502 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Mexico are the centers of silver smelting and refining. Important silver- 
smelting interests are as follows 

Company Situation of smelters 

The American Smelting & Refining Co United States and Mexico 

The United States S., R. & M. Co United States and Mexico 

The International Smelting Co United States 

Anaconda Copper Mining Co United States 

Consolidated Mining & Smelting Co Canada 

Compafiia Metalurgica Mexicana Mexico 

Compafiia Metalurgica de Torreon Mexico 

Compafiia Minera de Pefioles Mexico 

Through ownership of reduction plants, the United States exercises 
control over a somewhat larger share of the world's silver than it does 
through mine ownership. Much of the Canadian and Mexican as well 
as most of the South and Central American silver production enters the 
United States either as refined bullion or as ore and base bullion. 

It is estimated that control through reduction plants is about as 
follows : 

United States, %; Mexico, }/}; Canada, ^{4; Europe and Asia, ^{4. 

As regards silver, this type of control is not at all powerful. Silver- 
bearing materials can bear a high transportation charge as soon as the 
first process of freeing from gangue has been completed. Consequently, 
ownership of mines, rather than of reduction plants, is the vital factor 
of control over silver resources, so far as production is concerned. 

Through Trade Combinations. — The world's output of silver is 
controlled by the London market. To a small extent this may be due 
to a trade combination; to a large extent it is due to the relations of the 
London market with consumers. 

Four firms form the London silver market. Silver prices are fixed 
daily in London, and this " fixed" quotation controls the price of the 
metal in every important financial center throughout the world. 

There are three refineries in London that handle practically the whole 
of the silver bullion that comes on the London market. No silver can be 
bought or sold in London unless assayed by one of the four official 
assay ers to the Mint, Bank of England, etc. Silver treated by the 
London refineries and certain bars from European government refineries 
are exceptions to this rule. 

996 
The London refineries produce silver of the fineness tk™ to suit the 

Indian market. Other silver current in the London market has a fineness 

f 999 
1000' 

In the words of Benjamin White: "The care taken to safeguard the 
reputation of the London silver market, the high standing of the firms 
that comprise it, and the confidence built up by the methods and practices 



SILVER 503 

adopted to protect the interests of buyer and seller alike, provide a 
strong guarantee that in the future, as well as in the past, silver will find 
its business center in London." 

Through Relations with Consumers — England's Control of Silver. — 
As already indicated, India and China are the great consumers of silver. 
For the five years preceding 1914, fully 40 per cent, of the world's silver 
output was shipped from London to those two countries, which, with a 
combined population of over 700,000,000, represent the buying side of the 
world's silver market, just as North America represents the selling side. 

Since 1914 the capacity of these countries to absorb silver has steadily 
increased and in 1918 it was mainly a question of where the silver could 
be obtained. Current production was inadequate to meet the demands, 
and old stocks of the precious metal were of necessity put on the market. 

The world's silver business consists in getting the metal from the 
Americas to the East. Why send it via London, exposing the precious 
metal to greater marine hazards and losing interest while in transit? 
The main reason is that the chief trade of China and India with western 
nations is with England, and the great banking houses that finance this 
trade are in London. These banks purchase silver in London to adjust 
exchange balances. Funds to purchase such silver usually originate in 
London, whether from bills on London, loans from London banks or in 
other ways. In addition, London has been the center of the world's 
finance and foreign trade, and also the center from which the mail 
steamers, the swiftest and cheapest routes to the principal consumers of 
silver, have radiated. 

When the submarine became a menace the United States shipped 
silver direct from San Francisco to India and China. A large part of 
the United States production was thus diverted from London, and in 
1918 exports of silver from London were far below normal. However, 
the officials of the American Smelting & Refining Co., refiners of over one- 
third of the world's silver output, say that they do not expect these con- 
ditions to continue. The established business of the London silver trade, 
and, of more importance, the relationship between commercial London 
and the silver-consuming countries, will no doubt quickly re-establish the 
normal status of London — importer of American silver, exporter of the 
silver needed in the Far East. 

The American refiner or silver producer is glad to have a steady and 
broad market for his silver, such as is furnished by the four London firms. 
Smelting interests and mines are able to dispose of their product through 
London; otherwise they would have to deal with brokers or banks in 
the Far East. The London firms keep in close touch with the big bullion 
dealers of Bombay, Calcutta, and other cities, which are the centers from 
which silver is distributed throughout India. Silver for the Indian 
imperial coinage, however, is purchased in London by the government. 



504 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Through the Pittman Act in the United States. — The above silver 
trade flow-sheet has recently (1920) been materially changed by the 
program of the Government of the United States to purchase domestic 
silver at $1 an ounce. If the world price for silver remains below 
this figure, all American silver will be absorbed by the Government for 
about four years, or until the 207,000,000 ounces specified in the Pitt- 
man Act are bought. If silver, however, should rise above $1 the flow 
to market as sketched above would be resumed. 

Position of China and Japan. — Chinese foreign exchange rates depend 
to a large extent on the price of silver. All importers or exporters deal- 
ing with China must deal in the silver market. Although copper " cash" 
is the basis of Chinese currency, silver is the standard legal tender for 
transactions involving large amounts, and weights of silver are used as 
units. Fineness and weight of Chinese coins are manipulated so that 
coins issued by the silver-producing states, e.g., Mexican dollars (two 
varieties), British dollars, Spanish dollars, etc., are prized by the Chinese 
because they are uniform in value. 

Japan produces considerable silver, a great deal coming from her 
electrolytic copper refineries. Gold is the money standard and silver is 
not used extensively in the arts. Consequently Japan produces more 
than enough silver to satisfy local consumption. The government 
is alive to the importance of silver in connection with all dealings with 
China. In 1918, Japanese banks bought up Chinese silver supplies, 
paying prices in excess of all other traders. It is believed that American 
silver has been flowing into Japan via China and that Japan seeks to 
control the Chinese silver market. A large silver reserve is being built 
up in Japan. On account of the international importance of the whole 
Chinese problem, Japanese activity in silver should be noted. 

SUMMARY 

Silver is used both for money and in the arts, the former use being the 
more important and more essential. In some countries, especially those 
producing silver in large amounts, it is the money standard, either alone 
or with gold. In other countries on a gold standard, silver is used for 
subsidiary coinage. In India and China it is used for the settlement of 
foreign trade exchange balances. Normally about two-thirds of the silver 
produced annually is used in the arts, mainly for the manufacture of 
jewelry and luxurious household wares, though some is consumed in the 
photographic, chemical, and other essential industries. During the war 
more silver went into coinage and less into the arts than formerly, as the 
large issues of paper money made corresponding increases in the number 
of silver coins desirable. Large amounts have been exported to the 
Far East. The war has shown that silver should still be considered an 



SILVER 505 

essential metal of the world's finance and trade, despite the increasing 
amounts consumed in non-essential uses. 

About one-half of the silver output of the world is obtained as a 
secondary product in the mining of other metals, notably lead and copper, 
from deposits of all geologic ages. The high-grade silver ores are derived 
chiefly from Tertiary deposits, and it is probable that in the future Mexico 
and the Rocky Mountain- Andes region will be the chief sources of ores 
of this type. 

Of the total world silver production over 80 per cent, comes from the 
mines of the Western Hemisphere. For many years Mexico was the 
leading silver-producing country of the world, but the unsettled political 
conditions have so interfered with mining operations that the production 
for 1917 was less than a half of that for 1911 or 1912. The United States, 
a close second to Mexico in pre-revolutionary years, now occupies the 
leading position. Canada and Central and South American countries 
also produce important quantities of silver. In the Eastern Hemisphere, 
Australia is the leading silver producer. Smaller amounts are con- 
tributed by Spain, Austria, Turkey, India, and Japan. 

Changes in practice of silver recovery and even silver prices have little 
influence on silver production. It will be stimulated rather by discover- 
ies of new silver deposits or by enlarged and improved base-metal milling 
operations. 

The principal silver deposits of the world are controlled politically 
by the United States, Mexico, and Great Britain, the three nations con- 
trolling about 85 per cent, of the total production in 1913. United States 
capital controls the entire silver output of the United States, and mines 
producing half of the Mexican output, one-fourth of the Canadian output, 
and much of that of the Central and South American countries, in all 
something over one-half of the world's normal silver production. Great 
Britain controls probably one-third of the world production, chiefly in 
Canada, Australia, India, Africa, and Mexico. German capital owns 
probably one-tenth, located partly in Germany but mainly in Mexico. 
The remaining silver deposits of the world are owned by Japanese, 
Spanish, and French capital. Ownership of reduction plants is not a 
powerful form of control in the case of silver. The United States owns 
about four-sevenths of the total smelting and refining capacity of the 
world, the remaining three-sevenths being controlled largely by German, 
British, and Mexican capital. 

Although the greater part of the silver produced each year comes from 
North and South America, the world's silver market is located in London 
because of the close relations between English business interests and 
India and China, the chief consumers of the metal. 

The United States Government, however, will (1920) purchase all 
American silver offered at $1 per ounce, up to 207,000,000 ounces. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

PLATINUM 

By James. M. Hill 
USES OF PLATINUM 

In past discussion of the uses of platinum some confusion has resulted 
from the lack of appreciation that all commercial platinum is not the 
pure metal. The pure metal is required for chemical work of all sorts, 
but for other uses the iridium alloys are used. Electrical platinum con- 
tains 15 to 50 per cent, iridium, but averages 25 per cent., and jeweler's 
platinum carries about 10 per cent, iridium. Palladium, another of the 
platinum group metals, is also of importance, chiefly in the form of 
palladium-gold alloys, which can be used to replace platinum in the 
dental and jewelry industries. Rhodium, one of the rarer elements of 
crude platinum, has a limited use in electrical pyrometers. Osmium 
and ruthenium, the remaining members of the platinum group, appear 
to have little use, though osmium, when properly used, can be employed 
as a substitute of iridium to harden platinum alloys. 

The essential uses of platinum metals are in the chemical and elec- 
trical industries, and probably the dental industry should be classed as 
essential. Pure platinum is required in the chemical industry for cata- 
lysers in the manufacture of sulphuric acid (about 75,000 ounces now in 
use in the United States) and in the manufacture of nitric acid from am- 
monia. For the sulphuric-acid industry, platinum chloride is the primary 
material containing platinum. Asbestos or anhydrous magnesium 
sulphate soaked in platinum chloride, and then baked to drive Off the 
chlorine, forms what is known as " contact mass," which is charged into 
the chambers of contact acid plants. Very fine-mesh platinum gauze 
is used for the catalyser in nitric-acid plants. Some gauze used for this 
purpose has a reinforcing edge of platinum-iridium wire. Pure platinum 
utensils of various kinds, including crucibles, dishes, tongs, and tri- 
angles, are required in every chemical laboratory. It is possible to 
substitute palladium-gold alloys, or even gold, nickel, nichrome, and 
silica, for some utensils, but no substitutes have yet been found which will 
entirely replace platinum chemical ware. 

Platinum-iridium alloys have been used extensively by the electrical 
industry, but substitutes are constantly being developed. Tungsten, 
molybdenum, and nickel-chrome alloys are the principal substitutes used 

506 



PLATINUM 507 

so far, but their use has not done away with the necessity of platinum in 
the industry. The principal use of platinum-iridium alloys in electrical 
work is in contact points, and the proportion of iridium necessary in the 
alloys is directly dependent on the intensity of the current passing through 
the contacts and the speed at which the contacts move. Probably the 
largest consumption of platinum alloy is in the manufacture of telephone 
and telegraph equipment, including sending and receiving instruments, 
switch boards and relays. There is also a large consumption of platinum 
for contacts in magnetos used for various kinds of internal-combustion 
engines. Automobile makers are, however, developing starting systems 
that do not require platinum, so we can hope for a lessening future demand 
from that quarter. 

Platinum has an important use in dentistry, though in emergencies 
palladium-gold alloys have been used as substitutes. Seemingly, how- 
ever, the substitutes are not entirely satisfactory, and it may be necessary 
to go back to platinum for certain dental uses. The chief uses are for 
pins for crown work, pins for fastening artificial teeth to plates, and foil 
for making molds of cavities in which to bake porcelain fillings. For 
the time being, the. palladium-gold substitutes can be used and perhaps 
they will be developed so that the use of pure platinum in the future may 
not be necessary. 

The non-essential use of platinum metals is in jewelry, and it seems 
certain that this misuse of platinum metals must be stopped in order 
that industrial development may continue. It is estimated that for a 
number of years 50 per cent, of the platinum consumed in the world 
went into jewelry. A large part of platinum-mounted jewelry is in 
private ownership, and as the value of the metal in a jewel is approximately 
35 per cent, of the total cost, it is evident that it would be difficult, 
if not impossible, in case of necessity to recover more than a small pro- 
portion of the large quantity of platinum that is in the form of jewelry. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

The relative importance of the platinum-producing countries of the 
world can best be judged by the past output, which is shown in the follow- 
ing table, l and graphically in the chart. 

The platinum field of Russia is in the Ural Mountains, north of 
Ekaterinburg. In Colombia, South America, the chief production of 
platinum has come from the headwater streams of the San Juan River, 
which enters the Pacific near Buena Ventura; some platinum is found in 
the upper reaches of the Atrato River, which enters the Caribbean Sea 
near the east end of Panama. A small amount of platinum and osmi- 
ridium has come from New South Wales and some osmiridium from 

1 Hill, J. M. : " Platinum and Allied Metals," U. S. Geol. Survey, " Mineral Re- 
sources, 1916," Pt. 1, 1917, p. 3. 



508 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



Table 72. — Estimated World's Production of Crude Platinum, 

(In troy ounces) 


1909-1917 


Country- 


1909 


1910 


1911 


1912 


1913 


1914 


1915 1916 


1917 




500 

30 

6,000 

440 

264,000 

672 


200 

30 

10,000 

332 

275,000 

390 






200 

50 

15,000 

1,500 

250,000 

483 


30 
17,500 

1,248 

241,200 

570 


i 
100 
18,000 

303 

124,000 

742 


i 

60 
25,000 

222 

63,900 

750 


i 




30 
12,000 

470 

300,000 

628 


30 
12,000 

778 

300,000 

721 


80 




32,000 


New South Wales and 


i 




50,000 




605 






Totals 


271,642 


285,952 


313,128 


313,529 


267,233 


260,548 


143,145 


89,932 


82,685 







1 No basis for estimate. 



Tasmania. Some of the placers in southwestern Oregon and northern 
California carry platinum as well as gold. Platinum has recently been 
determined in concentrates from several localities in Alaska and Canada, 
and is known in some placers in Borneo and India. 

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLATINUM 

Practically all of the platinum metals produced in the world to date 
have been derived from placer deposits, though a little platinum and 
palladium have been obtained as a by-product from the electrolytic 
refining of copper and nickel matte. 

The platinum placers of the world are so definitely related to intrusive 
basic igneous rocks, including pyroxenites, peridotites and dunites, that 
there is practically no question of the origin of the metal. In fact, in 
British Columbia, Spain, and Russia platinum has been found in place 
in these types of rocks, and it is reported that owing to the great value of 
platinum at present, a project is on foot to crush and wash certain of 
the bodies of dunite in Russia. 

Platinum is not found in all placers derived from basic rocks, but so 
far as known it is rarely found in placers derived from other types of 
rocks. Prospecting for platinum placers therefore resolves itself first into 
a search for deposits of gravel derived in a large part from pyroxenite, 
peridotite, and dunite. Chromite is a characteristic heavy constituent 
of platinum sands and in some deposits can be recovered as a by-product 
in mining. Olivine is also present in considerable amounts. Magnetite 
and ilmenite are ordinarily present in the concentrates from platinum 
placers, but are more characteristic of placers in which gold is the most 
valuable constituent. 

A large amount of prospecting has been done in Russia and Spain, 
based on the theory of origin outlined above. Much of this prospecting 
has been successful in locating platiniferous placers, but many of these 
recent discoveries do not seem to be of commercial worth. It is not 
possible to foretell whether placers derived from basic igneous rocks will 



PLATINUM 



509 



be productive. The most that can be told is that certain placers derived 
from these rocks hold the greatest promise for the searcher for platinum. 
Platinum is such a rare metal and is found in such small quantities in its 
mother rock that it is necessary to have certain physiographic conditions 
present to predicate commercial deposits. Most important of these con- 
ditions is extremely prolonged or very rapid weathering of the primary 
deposits. In the Russian field, rock-weathering has been in progress for 
great geologic time; on the other hand, in Colombia, South America, the 
period of weathering seems to have been relatively short, but so rapid 
that the same result has been obtained. 

Ordinarily, platinum is not found in commercial quantities in gravels 
that have not been reconcentrated, and the richer deposits of the world 
seem to be the results of repeated reconcentrations of platinum-bearing 
material. Crude or placer platinum is not pure metal, but contains, 
besides other metals of the platinum group, more or less iron, nickel, and 
copper. Russian crude platinum is ordinarily sold on the assumption 
that it contains 83 per cent, platinum metals; Colombian crude, 85 per 
cent, platinum metals. Some placer platinum, so-called, carries a large 
proportion of osmiridium. Thus the Oregon and California crude 
platinum carries from 25 to 45 per cent, iridium, and Tasmanian plati- 
num is really nearly pure osmiridium. 

The following analyses of Russian, 1 Colombian, 2 and American 2 
platinum serve to illustrate the wide divergence of metal content of crude 
platinum. 



Table 73. — Analyses of Crude Platinum from Various Parts of the World 



North America 1 


South America 1 




California 


California 


Oregon 


British 
Columbia 


Colombia 


Colombia 


Colombia 


Pt 


85.50 
1.05 
1.00 
0.60 


63.30 
0.70 
1.80 
0.10 


51.45 
0.40 
0.65 
0.15 


72.07 
1.14 
2.57 
0.19 


86.20 
0.85 
1.40 
0.50 


86.16 
1.09 
2.16 
0.35 
0.97 
1.19 


80.00 


Ir 


1.55 


Rh 


2.50 


Pd 


1.00 


Os 




I03 


1.10 
0.80 
6.75 
1.40 
2.95 


22.55 
0.30 
6.40 
4.25 


27.30 
0.85 
4.30 
2.15 
3.00 


10.51 

8.59 
3.39 
1.69 


0.95 
1.00 
7.80 
0.60 
0.40 


1.40 


Au 


1.50 


Fe 


8.03 
0.40 


7.20 


Cu 


0.65 




4.35 












101.15 


99.40 


100.25 


100.15 


100.25 


100.35 


100.15 



1 Duparc, Louis: "Le Platine et les gites platiniferes de l'Oural": Soc. des Eng. 
Civ. de France. Bull. Jan.-Mar., 1916. 

2 Kemp, J. F.: "The Geological Relation and Distribution of Platinum and Asso- 
ciated Metals": U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 193. 



510 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 



Oceania 1 


Russia 2 




Borneo 


N. S. W. 


Australia 
Tasmania? 


Taguil 


Iso 


Kamenon- 
chy 


Koswinsky 


Kanjak- 
owsky 


Pt 


82.60 
0.66 

3.80 

0.20 

10.67 

0.13 


75.90 
1.30 
1.30 

Trace 

9.30 

10.15 
0.41 
1.22 


61.40 
1.10 
1.85 
1.80 

26.00 
1.20 
4.55 
1.10 
1.20 


76.16 

2.68 
0.54 
0.27 

1.50 

14.72 
3.39 


80.10 
1.38 
0.30 
0.30 

4.47 
0.09 

7.68 
0.63 


82.46 
1.79 
0.69 
0.18 

4.99 
0.27 
9.49 
0.54 


83.50 
2.74 
0.62 
0.28 

0.79 

0.07 

11.05 

1.14 


60.39 


Ir 


6 90 


Rh 

Pd 

Os 


0.80 
0.19 


Io 3 


20 21 


Au 




Fe 


11.16 


Cu 

Sand 


0.49 




98.06 


99.58 


100.20 


99.26 


94.95 


100.41 


100.19 


100.04 



1 Analyses cited by Kemp. 

2 Analyses cited by Duparc. 

3 Io 3 is abbreviation used for osmiridium. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLATINUM 

The relative importance of the platinum-pro ducing countries of the 
world can best be judged by the past output, which is shown in the 
following table 1 and graphically in Figure 22. 

Table 74. — Estimated World's Production of Crude Platinum, 1909-1917 

(Troy ounces) 





1909 


1910 


1911 


1912 


1913 


1914 


1915 


1916 


1917 




500 

30 

6,000 

440 

264,000 

672 


200 

30 

10,000 

332 

275,000 

390 






300 

50 

15,000 

1,500 

250,000 

483 


30 
17,500 

1,248 

241,000 

570 


100 
18,000 

303 

125,000 

742 


60 
25,000 

222 

63,900 

750 




Canada 

Colombia 

New South Wales and 

Tasmania 

Russia 


30 
12,000 

470 

300,000 

628 


30 
12,000 

778 

300,000 

721 


80 
32,000 

50,000 
605 








271,642 


285,952 


313,128 


313,529 


267,233 


260,548 


143,145 


89,932 


82,685 



Russia. — Russian placer deposits have supplied approximately 95 
per cent, of the platinum in the world. The principal placer deposits 
rich in platinum are in the central Urals, in the Perm government, near 
Nishni-Tagilsk, Nishni-Turinsk, and Verkhoturshi. The richer deposits 
are on the eastern slope of the mountains, principally on the Iss and Veeya 
tributaries of the Tura River of the Obi drainage. Several important 

1 Hill, J. M.: "Platinum and Allied Metals": U. S. Geol. Survey "Mineral Re- 
sources, 1916," Pt. I, 1917, p. 3. 



PLATINUM 



511 



placers are found on the west slope of the mountains on the headwaters 
of the Chusovaia and Kama rivers of the Volga drainage. Near Nishni- 
Tagilsk platiniferous placers occur both on the Taguil, a tributary of the 
Obi, and on the Martian, a headwater stream of the Volga drainage. In 
these placers platinum is the predominant metal, but gold is also found. 
The greater part of the output in the past has been by hand-washing, but 



300.000 



/'_I9!I ^1912 

OJmmOJmm 

1% 



w 



°/o 1910 
0.4 



0.7 
2.2 



3.S 
1909 



E 



200,000- 



o 

C 

z> 
o 

O 



97.1 



100,000- 



%l 



W.5 



3.8 



% 



SS.5 



f.6 



PRODUCTION 
C~~| RUSS/A 
1913 ^COLUMBIA 

* ,9W —ALL OTHERS 



93.6 



K7 



1915 



"1 



/«! 



87.7 



I 



ir.Q 



m 



Fig. 22. — Sources of crude platinum produced from 1909 to 1917. 



of recent years much of the ground has been reworked by dredges, though 
it is still safe to say that over 75 per cent, of the output is from hand 
labor. It is hardly practicable in a report of this sort to discuss in detail 
the individual deposits, even were the information at hand. The best 
information available can be summarized as follows : most of the plati- 
num has undoubtedly originated from the disintegration of dunitic, 
pyroxenitic, or peridotitic rocks. The period of weathering has been 



512 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

very long and there have been many changes in the drainage systems, 
which have now reached maturity. The stream grades are low; the 
inter-stream relief is relatively slight. The platinum has probably been 
reconcentrated many times and is at present won principally from 
present valley gravels, though the pay channels do not always follow the 
present river channels. Some bench-ground representing old river 
channels is worked, particularly in the Nishni-Tagilsk region. The pay 
gravels ordinarily rest on bed-rock, though concentration on clay beds 
forming false bed-rock is fairly common. The pay dirt ranges from a few 
inches to as much as 6 feet in thickness. It has few large boulders, but 
has considerable clay in many places. The overburden ranges from 2 to 
16 feet in thickness, averaging 8 to 10 feet. It consists of a thick basal 
portion of practically barren gravel and sand, or clay and sand lenses 
interlayered with gravel, which is overlain by 2 to 3 feet of clay sand and 
vegetable matter similar to the "muck" of the Alaskan mines. 

In shallow ground, up to 3 feet deep, mining is carried on by open-cut 
methods; in the deeper ground shafts and drifting have been employed. 
For the deposits in river channels crude hand dredges were and still are 
used for raising the gravels. About 35 more or less modern dredges 
were engaged in platinum mining prior to the war. Clay is so generally 
found in the gravels that specially designed machines have been used to 
save the platinum and the newer dredges have special devices to cope 
with this problem. 

Colombia. — The platinum district of Colombia covers the upper 
waters of the Atrato and San Juan rivers in the Choco district of north- 
western Colombia. Platinum is known as far north as Bete, on the 
Atrato, and in many of the tributaries of the San Juan which enter from 
the east. Most of the platinum exported from Colombia has come from 
the Condoto River, a headwater stream of the San Juan. It is stated 
that in this stream the platinum constitutes about 75 per cent, of the 
precious metal in the gravel. On the Atrato the platinum content is 
lower, ranging from 5 to 15 per cent. Platinum and osmiridium also 
occur in the streams south of the San Juan drainage, which enter directly 
into the Pacific, though little authentic data concerning them are 
available. 

According to Dr. Tulio Ospina, 1 Director of the School of Mines, 
Medellin, Colombia, platinum is found widespread in conglomerates 
which cover an extensive area in the Atrato and San Juan basins. The 
metal has been reconcentrated in the present stream channels from which 
the major output of platinum comes. According to the statements of 
various observers, there are places on the interstream areas in which 
platinum has been concentrated. These areas are, from all accounts, 
old stream channels. The primary platinum deposits evidently are to be 

1 Proceedings Second Pan- American Scientific Congress, vol. 8, 1917. 



PLATINUM 513 

looked for on the west slope of the western ridge of the Andes, though no 
literature which gives detailed information on the geology of this range 
has been found. Peridotite, dunite, and other basic igneous rocks are 
represented in the platiniferous gravels. 

There is almost no information upon which to base an estimate as to 
the possible reserves of platinum in Colombia. Little has been published 
on the subject that gives good data on the geology of the country, but 
from all accounts it seems safe to assume that Colombia holds much 
promise and should be more carefully prospected. Over 90 per cent, 
of the platinum mined in Colombia is won by natives, mostly women, who 
raise the gravel in calabaches and wash the gravels in bateas. The dry 
season is utilized, for then the low places in the river are more exposed. 
There is one dredge in opsration in Colombia at present, though other 
dredging operations have been tried, which, for various causes, were not 
successful. 

Canada. — A small quantity of platinum is produced each year by the 
placer operations on the Tulameen Rivert, in British Columbia. The 
metal was derived from a mass of peridotite and dunite, which outcrops 
west of the main drainage. The gravels of this area are apparently very 
deep, but the platinum is found in the upper 8 to 20 feet, in part concen- 
trated on a false bed-rock. Recent information indicates the possibility 
of dredging a considerable acreage of gravels on the Tulameen in the 
vicinity of Princeton. Reports were current during 1917 of discoveries 
of platiniferous placers further north in the Canadian Rockies, but no 
definite information concerning the size or value of the deposits is 
available. 

By far the greater part of the yearly output of platinum and palladium 
of Canadian origin is a by-product of refining the nickel ores of the 
Sudbury district, Ontario. That a far greater production of both metals 
from this source is possible has been shown by the Royal Ontario Nickel 
Commission. 

United States. — Crude platinum is won in California, Oregon, and 
Washington. The dredges at the base of the Sierra Nevada Moun- 
tains in California produce a large part of the placer platinum output 
of the United States, principally because of the great yardage handled 
rather than because of any particular concentration of platinum in the 
gravels derived from the Mother Lode belt. In northern California the 
Klamath and Trinity rivers, particularly the Hay Fork of the Trinity, 
carry platiniferous gravels. In southwestern Oregon platiniferous giavels 
have been found at several placas on the Illinois and Rogue rivers. Along 
the beach from Bandon, Oregon, to Eureka, California, platinum occurs 
with the black sands and has been won at a number of mines located 
both on the present strand line and on ancient elevated beaches. In 
the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon and in the Strawberry Range 



514 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

south of John Day River a few placers have been worked which carried 
platinum. In Washington, particularly on the south fork of Lewis 
River, near Yacolt, platinum has been found, and it is reported on the 
beaches from the Straits of Juan de Fuca south. 

All of the platinum-bearing placers in the United States are closely 
associated with chromiferous serpentine derived from peridotites or 
pyroxenites. The concentration of the platinum has not been great 
and the original quantity was not large, so none of the areas seems capable 
of much production. Most of the crude platinum from the Pacific Coast 
placers carries considerable osmiridium. As stated before, the great 
bulk of the platinum won in the United States is from the dredging 
fields at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains from Butte to Stanis- 
laus County. The gravels in these fields are the result of several reconcen- 
trations, but their platinum content can not be considered high. In 
practically all of the other stream placer areas the gravels have not been 
subject to such extensive reconcentration, and in some places recent 
gravels carry platinum. The beach deposits are the result of repeated 
concentration. The platinum and gold are excessively small, flaky, 
and difficult to separate from the heavy sands; they are concentrated in 
the dark bands of sand caused by tidal and wave concentration. The 
lenses are rarely over one foot thick and taper out in short distances. 
Correct estimates of reserves are consequently almost impossible. 

Within the past few years a little platinum has been won from widely 
scattered localities in Alaska, chiefly Dime, Bear, and Sweepstake 
Creek placers in eastern Seward Peninsula; the Boob Creek placers, 
Tolstoi district, Lower Yukon; and the beach deposits of Kodiak Island. 
Platinum also occurs in the Upper Kahiltna drainage, north of Anchorage. 

Copper ores rich in palladium are produced at the Rambler mine, 
Wyoming, from the Salt Chuck Mine, Alaska, and from the Boss mine, 
in Nevada. At the two former mines the ore is associated with basic 
igneous rocks; in the latter mine the ore bodies are in dolomite. The 
oft-repeated reports of platinum in certain sandstones exposed near the 
Bright Angel trail in the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, Arizona, and 
in certain shale beds in Chester County, Pennsylvania, have not been 
verified, though in June, 1918, the United States Platinum Co. was 
organized to work the deposits in Arizona. 

Australia. — Platinum and osmiridium have been won in small quan- 
tities from Queensland, New South Wales, and Tasmania. Platinum 
is also reported from New Zealand. The greater production has been 
from the osmiridium-bearing gravels of the Savage River drainage in the 
Bald Hills mining district in the northwestern part of Tasmania. Little 
has been published concerning the extent of these gravels, which were 
derived from the weathering of a series of sediments intruded by basic 
igneous rocks. 



PLATINUM 515 

In New South Wales, beach deposits much like those of California and 
Oregon are found from Beachy Head north past Clarence and Richmond 
rivers into Queensland. Commercial exploitation of these deposits 
seems to have had the ups and many downs of similar undertakings on our 
West Coast. Some platinum was obtained from an old buried channel 
in the Platina or Fifield district in central New South Wales, where pay 
gravel 6 to 10 feet thick lies under an overburden of 20 to 80 feet. The 
water supply was not in sufficient quantities to warrant large-scale opera- 
tions. The channel seems small and has been mined about as far as is 
commercially possible. 

Spain. — What may prove to be commercial placer deposits have been 
found in the Sierra Ronda, in southern Spain, about 50 miles northwest 
of the port of Malaga. The deposits have been discussed in some detail 
by Duparc. 1 Apparently the gravels have not been rearranged by 
nature many times, the concentration of platinum is not great, and it 
is problematical whether extensive development will be warranted. 

Other Countries. — A small amount of platinum is produced as a by- 
product from gold dredges on the Irawadi River, in India, and from the 
tin dredges in the Dutch East Indies. Unconfirmed reports have been 
received of discoveries of platinum in southern Siberia, at various places 
in Mexico, and from several localities in Ecuador and Peru. Platinum 
is known to occur in some of the streams as well as in certain of the gold 
deposits of the Minas Geraes district of Brazil. 

In southwestern Borneo platinum occurs in the Tanath-Laut district. 
Several Russian writers have given information on this region. 



PROBABLE CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION 
IN THE NEAR FUTURE 

At present the Russian platinum fields are practically idle. The 
dredges are for the most part not running and the industry is disorganized. 
It will require considerable expense and several months' time to rehabili- 
tate the Russian platinum industry. The known deposits of the Russian 
field are becoming exhausted, and the reserves of known platiniferous 
gravels are stated by Duparc to have a life of 12 years, based on the 
pre-war rate of production; or, stated differently, the known deposits are 
capable of producing between 3,000,000 and 3,600,000 ounces of plati- 
num before they are exhausted. 

Colombia seems to have large reserves of unworked platinum-bearing 
ground, though so little detailed information is available that it is unsafe 
to predict their future. It is safe, however, to point out that all reports 

1 Duparc, Louis, and Grossettv Augustine: " Etude comparee des gttes 
platiniferes de la Sierra de Ronda et de 1'Oural": Soc. Phys. et Hist. Nat. Geneve, 
Mem., t. 38, fasc. 5, 1916. 



516 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

indicate that careful prospecting in the Choco district will probably be 
repaid by the discovery of considerable areas of platinum-bearing ground. 

The Canadian deposits hold some promise of future production. 
Several recent discoveries of platinum along the Rocky Mountains in 
British Columbia, from the Tulameen to the Stikeen, indicate that further 
search may be rewarded. If reports are true, there is a considerable 
area on the Tulameen, Willow and Peace rivers which can be dredged 
for the recovery of gold and platinum.. The most important Canadian 
platinum reserves are in the Sudbury nickel deposits, but present metal- 
lurgical practice will have to be changed to obtain the maximum output 
of platinum and palladium from these ores. 

In the United States there does not seem to be hope for a considerable 
increase in the output of platinum ; in fact, it may be that the production 
will be materially less when the new refineries for the treatment of Sud- 
bury ores are completed in Canada. The placer deposits carrying plati- 
num are for the most part relatively small; many of those in northern 
California and Oregon can not be worked economically and few are avail- 
able for dredging. As the gold-dredging field along the base of the Sierras 
becomes exhausted, the output of platinum in this country will decline 
in proportion, barring the discovery of new ground and deposits of gravel 
richer in platinum than those now known. 

The various Australian platinum deposits do not seem particularly 
promising, as regards production, with the possible exception of the 
Bald Hill dredging field, in Tasmania. The Fifield deposits seem to be 
nearly exhausted and the beach deposits in New South Wales and Queens- 
land are too low grade and the valuable minerals are too erratic in dis- 
tribution to appear of much commercial interest. 

The Spanish deposits have not yet been sufficiently explored to de- 
termine their extent, but published reports do not seem to indicate that 
they will prove very large or particularly rich. 

POLITICAL CONTROL 

As Table 74 shows, Russia has political control of approximately 90 
per cent, of the world's supply of platinum. It seems probable that 
Canada, in the nickel ore of the Sudbury district and in the known placers 
in the Tulameen and Barkersville districts, has control of the third largest 
reserve of platinum. The deposits under the political control of the 
United States in Alaska and on the Pacific Coast are relatively insignifi- 
cant. Great Britain naturally controls the platinum in her colonial 
possessions, Australia, Tasmania, and India. The output of the Dutch 
East Indies, from Borneo and Sumatra, is relatively small, although there 
is a possibility that the production from these countries may be increased. 
Spain may, perhaps, control a small output of platinum, though it does 



PLATINUM 517 

not seem probable that the production from this country will ever be 
large. A large area in the Sierra Ronda Mountains has been set aside 
by the government for further prospecting under the auspices of the 
government, and it seems reasonable to believe, judging from the general 
mineral policy of Spain, that in the event of the proving of commercial 
deposits they will be worked under government auspices rather than 
by private persons. 

Although the deposits in Colombia are politically controlled by that 
country, they are, nevertheless, owned largely by American interests. 

COMMERCIAL CONTROL 

Through Ownership of Mines. — Prior to the war, French commercial 
interests practically dominated the platinum industry of Russia, through 
the operations of the Compagnie Internationale du Platine. This com- 
pany not only had extensive mining holdings but also had contracts with 
the two largest independent Russian platinum producers, namely, the 
Shouvaloff and Demidoff companies, for their entire output. The 
contracts were suspended by the French company shortly after the decla- 
ration of war and may not be remade. There are, however, two Russian 
companies which are more or less independent of French control and 
there are a large number of small miners and peasants who know no 
allegiance to any particular buying concern. It appears that at least 
75 per cent, of the platinum production of Russia is (or was, previous to 
the Bolshevist domination) controlled by the following companies: 
Compagnie Internationale du Platine (French), Shouvalofi's company 
(Russian), Denudoff company (Russian), Nicolo-Pavdinski company 
(Russian), and the Platina company (Russian). During 1914 these 
companies were operating approximately 35 dredges in the platinum field, 
though from the best reports now available it does not seem that more 
than two or three of the dredges were at work during 1917. The reader 
should realize, however, that the production from dredges has always 
been relatively small, as compared with the output made by other 
methods. It is estimated that about 80 per cent, of the platinum won 
from the Russian placers is recovered by hand labor by lessees (starateli) 
who contract to dispose of their production to the companies owning the 
ground and pay a royalty for the privilege of working. Since the war 
the peasants an d miners are virtually in control of all the mines and the 
original operators have little to do with operation or management. 

The most important platinum-bearing placers in Colombia are con- 
trolled by American financial interests. The General Development Co., 
of New York, through two subsidiary companies, controls a large area in 
the headwater region of the San Juan River, particularly on the Con- 
doto River. Recently these interests have organized the South Ameri- 



518 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

can Gold & Platinum Co. The Quito Mining Co. controls a consider- 
able acreage on the Quito River between Quibdo and Istimina. There 
are other small American holdings in the vicinity of Negua, on the 
Atrato drainage, and on the Tamana and Sipi, on the San Juan drainage. 
Late in 1917 a British company was organized for the development of 
extensive holdings on the Opogodo River, in the upper San Juan drainage. 
If the present conditions are not changed by special legislation in Colom- 
bia it would seem that American financial interests will continue to domi- 
nate the Colombia platinum field. 

The platinum deposits of the United States are apparently largely in 
the hands of small holders, who are citizens of this country. A few of the 
large dredges in California, which are producing platinum as a by-product, 
are, in part, owned by British capital. 

Apparently the beach deposits in Australia (in New South Wales and 
Queensland) are worked in a small way by local capital, as are the de- 
posits near Platina and Fifield. The Tasmania deposits are controlled by 
local capital. 

As to Canada, it is understood that a large part of the gravel area of 
the Tulameen River, near Princeton, British Columbia, is controlled by 
American capital. A few claims on the upper Tulameen are controlled 
by Canadian capital. An American company has recently been or- 
ganized for the purpose of exploiting certain prospective areas in the 
Barkersville region, in north-central British Columbia, and it is understood 
that Canadian capital has rather extensive holdings on the Peace River, 
in northern British Columbia, which are reported to contain considerable 
quantities of platinum. The nickel deposits of Ontario, which have a 
considerable prospective value as producers of both platinum and palla- 
dium, are operated by the Mond Nickel Co., under British control, and 
the International Nickel Co., under American control. However, the 
Canadian government is regulating the operations of both of these 
companies. 

Through Ownership of Reduction Plants. — It is a peculiar fact that 
while the larger part of the Russian crude platinum is sold through a 
French company, nevertheless England has refined the greater part of 
the output of Russia. The Johnson Matthey Co., of London, is the 
largest platinum refiner in England. Prior to the war this company is 
is said to have refined about 70 per cent, of the Russian platinum 
production. 

In Germany the chief platinum refiner is W. C. Haraeus, of Hanau. 
This company is said to be owned chiefly by Dr. Heraeus and the estate 
of Heinrich Heraeus. The firm of F. Eisennad & Co., at Offenbach, a 
small platinum refiner, was acquired by Heraeus' interests just prior to 
the war. G. Seibert, of Hanau, also refines platinum, the operations 
being financed by the Seibert Bros., and the Deutsche Gold und Silber- 



PLATINUM 519 

scheidenanstalt, of Frankfort. According to Russian figures, about 
25 per cent, of the Russian output was refined by Germany and pre- 
sumably a large part of the work was done by Heraeus. Heraeus in- 
terests without doubt predominate the platinum-refining industry of 
Germany. 

The chief platinum refiner of France is Quenessen, de Belmont, Le- 
gendre et Cie., which is controlled by the estate of MM. Desmoutis and 
Lamaire. Other small refineries are the Lyon Allemand, the Credit 
Lyonnais, Herique Marrett & Bonnin, and Hesse Fils, all of Paris. 
Apparently the first company is the controlling factor in the French 
industry. 

In the United States the platinum industry is controlled by Baker & 
Co., American Platinum Works, Irvington Smelting & Refining Works, 
Hanovia Chemical Co., and Charles Englehard. There are several 
independent platinum refiners in the United States, though their com- 
bined output is less than a quarter of the domestic industry. These are 
J. Bishop & Co., Malvern, Pennsylvania; Wilson Co., Newark, New Jer- 
sey; Belais & Cohn, New York City; Kastenhuber & Lehrfeld, New York 
City, and Goldsmith Bros., Smelting & Refining Co., New York City and 
Chicago, which are operated financially by American capital. The 
Rossler & Hasslacher Chemical Co., of New York City, also refines some 
platinum. 

Prior to the war there was more or less interlocking of the interests 
of Johnson and Matthey of London, Quenessen of Paris, Heraeus of 
Hanau, and Baker & Co. of New York. It is generally conceded that 
prior to the war Heraeus actually controlled the American interests now 
dominated by Englehard. However, when war was declared these 
various companies, by interchange of their stock, were separated, so that 
it now appears that German money is no longer interested in the English, 
French, or American platinum industry. It is probable, however, that 
both the English and French companies still hold stock in the American 
company, though the control of the American interests is now held by 
Charles Englehard through ownership of the majority of the stock of the 
companies mentioned above. 

It is reported that there were two government-owned platinum 
refineries in Russia prior to the war, though apparently they handle only 
a very small quantity of the platinum produced in Russia and no plati- 
num from any foreign countries. 

POSITION OF THE WORLD AS REGARDS PLATINUM 

As explained above, owing to. the location of the chief platinum-pro- 
ducing regions, Russia has been the source of practically all of the world's 
platinum, though commercially the French controlled the marketing of 
the bulk of the Russian output. Since 1914 practically no platinum has 



520 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

been exported and what little did get out came mostly to the United 
States. The situation of the various countries can be summarized 
as follows : 

Russia normally used little of her own platinum, exporting it to Eng- 
land, Germany, and France. The country had almost no platinum- 
refining capacity, the industry being controlled by French and Russian 
capital with more or less German influence. Since the war the platinum 
mines have not been extensively worked and in fact their production 
has decreased greatly. Any accumulated stocks of platinum that may 
have been in Russia probably found their way into Germany and into 
Allied lands. 

Before the war Germany refined about 25 per cent, of the Russian 
production of platinum; she has no deposits within her own territory. 
She had built up great chemical and electrical industries, which required 
large stocks of platinum, and probably was in a fair position with regard 
to the metal when war was declared. It seems probable that there is a 
shortage of platinum in Germany at present, for any great expansion of 
either chemical or electrical industries. 

France through her control of the bulk of the Russian output was in 
position to have accumulated considerable stocks of platinum, and that 
she did so is indicated by the fact that the government did not under- 
take any regulation of the platinum industry until early in 1918, and it 
does not appear that any great expansion of the chief industries requiring 
platinum was necessitated. 

About 70 per cent, of the Russian, probably half of the Colombian, 
and all of the Australian and Indian platinum was sold in England prior 
to the war. It is believed that not all of this was refined in England, for 
considerable amounts of crude platinum were exported from England 
to the United States; however, large stocks of the platinum metals were 
on hand in England when war was declared. England had to build a 
great chemical industry during the war, and quickly used what reserves 
she had, so that the government early in the war saw the necessity of 
controlling the use of platinum metals. 

The United States has been and will continue to be dependent on 
foreign platinum. At present all of the Colombian platinum is coming 
to this country. When we entered the war the stocks of platinum in the 
United States were about 50 per cent, of the normal, and as we had to 
build large chemical and electrical industries, those stocks were rapidly 
exhausted. 

Colombia has no platinum refineries; apparently she has use for none 
of the output of her mines. Before the war her crude platinum was 
shipped to England and the United States for refining, but at present it is 
all coming to the United States. 



PLATINUM 521 



SUMMARY 



About 90 per cent, of the crude platinum produced annually has come 
from the Ural Mountains, Russia. The deposits of next importance are 
situated in Colombia, South America. Small amounts are produced in 
Canada (chiefly as a by-product in the refining of nickel ore), in New 
South Wales, Tasmania, the United States, Dutch East Indies, India 
and Spain. 

The political control of the platinum deposits of the world corre- 
sponds to geographical distribution. Russia and Colombia control the 
principal deposits, and the United States, Great Britain, Holland, and 
Spain the minor ones. 

Prior to the war, a French company had extensive holdings in Russia, 
and in addition had contracts with two Russian platinum producers for 
their entire output. These contracts were canceled shortly after the 
declaration of war. The remaining deposits of the Russian fields are 
controlled by two independent Russian companies and by a large number 
of small miners. At present the peasants and miners are virtually in 
control of the mines and the owners have little to do with their operation 
or management. 

The principal platinum-bearing placers of Colombia are controlled by 
American interests. A British company was organized recently to 
develop holdings in the upper San Juan drainage. With the exception 
of a few of the large dredges of California, owned in part by British cap- 
ital, the platinum deposits of the United States are owned by American 
citizens. The platinum deposits of Australia are probably held for the 
most part by British capital. 

American capital controls a large part of the platinum gravel area 
of British Columbia. A few claims are controlled by Canadians. The 
companies operating the nickel deposits of Ontario, from which platinum 
is produced as a by-product, are American and British. 

About 75 per cent, of the Russian platinum has been refined in 
England and most of the remainder in Germany. Before the war there 
was an interlocking of the interests of the platinum refiners of the United 
States, Germany and Great Britain, which has been broken as far as 
Germany is concerned. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

WHO OWNS THE EARTH? 

By J. E. Spuer 

Let us glance over the preceding studies one by one and see what 
salient features each one contains. 

THE FUEL MINERALS 

Petroleum is of the utmost present importance and its future 
importance will be even greater. Recently 98 per cent, of the world's 
production has been contributed by the following countries in this 
general order of importance: The United States, Russia, Mexico, Dutch 
East Indies, Roumania, India, Persia, and Galicia. It is believed 
that the region around the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico will 
be of increasing importance, as will also the Persian and Mesopo- 
tamian fields. 

United States capital is supreme in the commercial control of the 
petroleum industry in the Western Hemisphere; while British and 
British-Dutch interests easily dominate the petroleum situation in the 
Eastern Hemisphere. 

Commercial control of petroleum is determined mainly through 
ownership by operating companies of lands, leases, or concessions. State 
ownership is rare, although in Argentina the petroleum industry is owned 
and operated by the state. The British government controls by direct 
ownership of a majority of the voting stock, the Anglo-Persian Oil 
Co., which gives it a monopoly of the Persian field, through the con- 
cession of an area of 500 square miles from Persia to the company, and 
closes the fie d to the enterprise of the United States or other nations; 
moreover through ramifications of this company, the British govern- 
ment is extending its hold to other parts of the world. 

In the United States the commercial control of the petroleum industry 
is in the hands of the " Standard Oil Group. " British and British-Dutch 
companies in the United States control a production of about 11,000,000 
barrels a year, out of a total of 335,000,000. In the important region of 
Mexico, which now takes second place in production, the commercial 
control is entirely in the hands of foreigners: American interests control 
65 per cent, and British and Dutch interests 32 per cent. 

522 



WHO OWNS THE EARTH.? 523* 

In the Eastern Hemisphere, the productive field of the Dutch East 
Indies is under absolute control of British-Dutch interests, the Royal 
Dutch-Shell Syndicate. Prospecting licenses and concessions are granted 
only to Dutch subjects and to Dutch companies, and this, with the 
economic monopoly of the controlling British-Dutch interests, prevents 
foreign enterprise. 

The absolute and exclusive control of the great oil fields of Persia 
and Mesopotamia by the British government will be confirmed and ex- 
tended by the extension of the British Empire over those portions of the 
Turkish Empire which she won by force of arms. 

In Russia the commercial control of the great petroleum industry 
seems to be British, the predominant interests being British, Franco- 
British, and British-Dutch (Royal Dutch-Shell Syndicate). The prin- 
cipal producing areas in Russia are or were till recently under British 
military control. 

The production of India (Burma) is entirely in British hands. 

"The general policy of the British Empire seems to be to control all 
oil development and restrict operations by foreign capital." Such re- 
strictions by government regulations exist in Australia, Canada, India, 
Barbados, British Guiana, British Honduras, Trinidad and other colonies. 

In the oil industry, then, we have a remarkable and striking division 
of the world's wealth between the two great Anglo-Saxon nations, Ameri- 
ca and Great Britain. No mineral lends itself so readily as oil to trans- 
portation and hence to commercial control. According to the present 
production, American interests are largely in excess. However, the 
British control of the great fields of the Eastern Hemisphere, many of 
them only partly developed, together with her growing hold in the West- 
ern Hemisphere, indicates the likelihood that the British grip of the 
world's oil resources and production may in the future become predomi- 
nant. 

Striking phases of the situation are that in the case of Great Britain 
the government and the oil monopolies are united, so that to all intents 
and purposes the control being obtained is by the British government 
direct; while in the United States the control is in the hands of purely 
commercial interests, operating without the control, assistance, or sym- 
pathy of the government. American companies may not own and 
operate oil lands in the British Empire, in the French possessions, or the 
Dutch colonies, but there are no American restrictions on foreign owner- 
ship or operation. 

The policy of Great Britain, furnishing her petroleum and oil 
bunkering stations all over the world, and assuring her control of the 
seas, will further immensely increase her already extensive world domina- 
tion. 

The United States has no such program of imperial expansion, but 



524 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

she has her Monroe Doctrine, which is to a mild degree an assumed 
protectorate over the Western Hemisphere. 

Coal. — Next let us take up coal, among the most important of all 
minerals — source of power, light, and heat, and smelter of iron and other 
metals. Here again, as in oil, we find the United States wonderfully 
endowed by nature. She is credited with reserves of 3,527,000 million 
tons out of a total 7,909,000 million in the world, or practically half of 
the whole world's supply. As the world's coal reserves are large, the 
high-grade varieties, so situated as to have cheap transportation, are of 
most immediate importance. Great Britain has such coal close to sea- 
board, and so, until the war, controlled the export trade all over the 
world. The industries of America leave her little coal for export, and her 
coal is farther from seaboard. The efforts of Germany before the war to 
build up a coal-export trade were hindered by the long rail haul; and these 
deposits are now being handed over to France. Besides France, Great 
Britain, and the United States, only Canada, Australia, and China have 
sufficient reserves for extensive export trade. Of these countries, China 
is the one most likely to increase exports, on account of nearness to the 
coast, and good quality of coal. 

Although the coals of the United States are not so close to the coast 
as in England, they not only constitute by far the largest reserves, as 
above stated, but are also most immediately available, owing to their 
shallow depth and the good railway transportation facilities. 

No natural substance is so universally used, and so necessary to 
every individual, as coal, and hence every individual feels a natural right 
to it, and believes that it should be available at a minimum cost. This 
has resulted in several countries in the nationalization of the coal industry, 
as in parts of Chile, Bulgaria, Prussia, and Australia. In other countries, 
as in parts of the United States, the government retains the ownership 
of coal lands, leasing them to private operators. In England the present 
conditions point toward the nationalization of the coal industry. In 
France the coal lands belong to the government, which gives concessions 
for their operation, and receives a royalty or rental and a percentage of 
the net earnings of the operator. 

Although the United States is pre-eminent among the world's nation- 
alities as regards coal, England has the advantage of having adequate 
supplies scattered all over the world, in her colonies of Australia, Canada, 
India, New Zealand, South Africa, Rhodesia, and Borneo. 

Unlike petroleum, coal is a mineral which does not lend itself readily 
to control by commercial combination. The mining and marketing of 
coal is a simple matter, requiring relatively little skill or equipment, so 
that it is a business open to everybody; and the vast extent of coal lands 
assures a multitude of owners. Therefore the effect of the control of coal 
on the world's commerce and history is almost entirely a matter of political 



WHO OWNS THE EARTH? 525 

control. Organization among producers exists in various countries, as 
in the case of the anthracite industry of the United States, but this does 
not as a rule extend to a central ownership, nor does it usually extend to 
foreign countries. 

In coal, then, as well as in petroleum, we find the two dominating 
nations are the great Anglo-Saxon powers, England and the United States. 
The United States mines about 40 per cent., or two-fifths of the world's 
annual production, while the British Isles have produced one-fifth of the 
production, making them second only to the United States. In neither 
case have the respective governments in the past attempted to control 
the mining and the sale of coal, but in England, at least, it is likely that 
some form of joint control, participated in by the government and the 
miners, will come. 

The methods of mining necessary for maximum production of British 
coal mines during the war resulted in putting the mines in such poor con- 
dition that it will be a year or two before they can supply all of the former 
British export trade. The demands of British workmen for shorter 
hours (resulting in decreased production) will hinder still further a re- 
sumption of large exports. One of the important phases of this, to 
England and America alike, is the South American trade. England has 
always supplied this market, but the United States will probably do so 
for the present, and should take care to do so if she desires South American 
trade, and on the commercial theory of the Monroe Doctrine. Up till 
recently, the United States has exported by sea only about 4 per cent, of 
her production, whereas England sent out 25 per cent. Our own ex- 
panding industries have provided an ample market. 

Aside from America and England, there is no dominating factor in 
the future control of the coal industry in the lands surrounding the 
Atlantic Ocean. Germany was a strong factor before the war, but the 
loss to France of the Saar coal district, and the possible loss, to Poland, 
of the Dombrova field, in Silesia, will deprive her of her importance; 
and the division among several nations of these resources will prevent any 
one of them from becoming a world's factor in the coal trade. 

In the lands about the Pacific Ocean, however, the most important 
future factor is the coal fields of China. No country except the United 
States has larger reserves of high-grade coal ready for development and 
not far from ocean transport. It is likely that the Japanese may attempt 
this development and the fostering of an export trade in the Orient. 
The high-grade coals of the United States are remote from the Pacific 
Ocean, and could only be available for Pacific trade by the long route of 
the Panama Canal. It is not unlikely, therefore, that Chinese coal may 
in the future be supplied to our own Pacific ports by the Japanese at a 
less price than American coal can be put there, and that through this 
development Japan may be able to dominate the Pacific trade, as England 
has dominated that of the Atlantic and the Pacific in the past. 



526 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

THE STEEL AND FERRO-ALLOY MINERALS 

Iron. — The iron supplies for the world's consumption have been ob- 
tained principally from four countries: the United States, Germany, 
France, and Great Britain xVlore than one-third of the total production 
has come from the United States, and of the American output about 85 
per cent, has come from the Lake Superior district, which alone produces 
annually over 30 per cent, of the world's total. Next in importance to 
the United States have been Germany and France, and about 80 per 
cent, of the production of these two countries has come from the Lorraine 
fields on the border. The annual output of these fields has been 25 per 
cent, of the world's production, or nearly as much as the Lake Superior 
district. 

Linked with the coal industry as it is, no world-wide or even national 
monopolies of iron ore have been attempted. The greatest single com- 
mercial organization in the world is the United States Steel Corporation, 
with a total annual capacity (in 1913) of over 17 million tons of pig iron, 
or about half of the total American production. But this organization is 
not a monopoly, and there are a large number of powerful independent 
companies. In France and Germany no dominating organizations have 
been noted. In England up to the time of the war the iron industry was 
controlled by middlemen, and the manufacturers were insufficiently 
organized. To meet this condition (page 86) the British Board of Trade 
Committee advised a consolidation of iron interests. 

Extension of commercial control by the dominant iron-producing 
nations to the ore reserves and to the iron industry of foreign countries, 
so establishing that commercial penumbra of empire which is so apt to 
deepen into actual sovereignty, is, however, much more marked in the 
case of iron than of coal, though less significant than in the case of oil. 
The control by ownership of great iron fields in South America by 
England and the United States, and the extension of Japanese control of 
iron-ore reserves in China, are the most significant features of this situ- 
ation. In France, even before the war, Germany controlled over one- 
third of the iron and steel business. With the passing of German 
Lorraine to France, it is likely that much German capital will remain. 

Japan has an iron and steel industry which, although small as com- 
pared with that of the United States, Germany, and Great Britain, and 
the other leading iron and steel manufacturing countries, is rapidly 
expanding. Blast furnaces, steel-making furnaces, and steel mills are 
being erected in Japan and in Korea, Manchuria, and China by Japanese 
interests. Japan is still very far from supplying her own consumption 
of iron and steel, which is a million and a half tons annually. 

In brief, as regards the world's iron and steel, the United States has a 
greatly preponderant position, which it will tend to increase, with the de- 



WHO OWNS THE EARTH? 527 

sirable tendency of drawing North and South America more closely to- 
gether. In Europe, France and Germany are oddly yoked in the control 
of the second greatest steel industry in the world. In the future great 
arena of the Pacific, Japan is patiently building up her steel industry, 
with far-reaching Oriental vision. Coal mines and an iron blast furnace 
are included in the German " rights" recently acquired by Japan. Will 
Japan return Shantung? Did Germany return Alsace Lorraine? In 
her forward-looking plans, Japan has two national rivals — England and 
America. She has a vast fertile field to work in, except for these (espe- 
cially England) — all of eastern Asia. She has a great disorganized nation 
which is no longer a rival — but a field whereon to feed and grow stronger 
— Siberia and Russia. 

In the train of steel, and next after the problems of coal and iron, 
come a number of less-known and less-abundant metals — the ferro- 
alloys, metals that alloy with iron to make steels of special hardness or 
toughness, or with some other special quality. Relatively inconspicuous 
as they are, they are indispensable in the industries. 

Manganese. — Manganese is far more than a ferro-alloy. It is essen- 
tial in the manufacture of all open-hearth process and Bessemer process 
steel, which make up 99 per cent, of the total United States production, 
for it acts as a remover of the carbon which makes the difference in 
quality between steel and cast iron. For this purpose it is mixed with 
the iron in the form of alloys. One of these is high in manganese — ferro- 
manganese — and one low — spiegeleisen. 

The principal manganese fields are those of Russia, India, and Brazil, 
which are so large and readily available for exploitation and transporta- 
tion to markets that there is little prospect that they will be displaced 
as the principal sources of the world's supply for many years. In 
contrast with the situation regarding other important minerals, most 
manganese deposits throughout the world are owned by residents of the 
countries in which they occur. This is due to the superficial and irregu- 
lar character of the oxide deposits (the only ones as a rule of high enough 
grade to find a market) and the simple nature of the mining and washing 
of ores, which does not require much capital. 

The United States is poorly provided with high-grade manganese 
ores, and hence has always been and will always be a heavy importer. 
Previous to the war, the supplies were mostly drawn from Russia and 
India; and during the war from Brazil, in addition to an increased 
domestic production under the stimulus of high war prices. England, 
France, and Germany — in fact the whole industrial world — have the same 
sources of supply. There is little necessity of sharp competition, leading 
to commercial combinations, or of strict governmental control, since the 
productive capacity of the principal deposits is very large, and far exceeds 
the world's demand for steel making. 



528 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Chromite. — Next in importance in the ferro-alloy group of metals is 
chromium, found in nature on a commercial scale only as the oxide 
chromite. Chrome is used extensively in the steel industry and the 
leather industry — in the former for making a specially tough steel (and 
also a refractory lining for iron furnaces) ; in the latter, for tanning. 

Chromite is found in many countries, but in most (as in the United 
States and Canada) in small and scattered deposits, easily exhausted. 
The largest and most important sources of supply are in the French colony 
of New Caledonia, in the South Pacific; in Rhodesia, in Africa; in Asia 
Minor; and in the Ural Mountains, Russia. Up to 1830 the Ural region 
supplied the world's chromium; from 1830 to 1870, the Eastern United 
States (Maryland and Pennsylvania) became the chief source; from 1870 
to about 1900 the scene of chief activity shifted to Asia Minor; and since 
then New Caledonian and Rhodesian ores have occupied the world's 
markets. New Caledonian ore is produced with cheap labor, and the 
deposits are near the coast; and the Rhodesian deposits are large and 
rich. High prices during the war, due to lack of shipping, brought about 
a great increase of production in the Pacific States of the United States; 
but with a return to normal conditions this region cannot survive com- 
petition, unless especially protected by legislation. 

In normal times, the United States consumes more than one-third of 
the world's annual consumption of chromite, but depends upon foreign 
sources — Rhodesia and New Caledonia. During the war, deposits of 
limited extent in Brazil and Cuba were drawn on, as well as Canadian 
and domestic ores. So far as developed, however, the Western Hemis- 
phere is relatively poor in chromite deposits. The chrome industry in 
the United States is highly centralized, the Electrometallurgical Com- 
pany having an almost' absolute monopoly of the ferrochrome industry, 
and being probably the largest producers of ferrochrome in the world, 
and the Mutual Chemical Company having a great preponderance in the 
chemical chrome industry. 

The chromite supply of the world is therefore at present essentially 
a monopoly controlled by British-French capital, and the great supplies 
occur in the colonies of England and France. 

Nickel. — The position of nickel is rather unusual, in that workable 
deposits are rarely met with, and deposits of great importance are con- 
fined to a few places. The only really commercially important deposits 
are those of Sudbury, in Canada, and of New Caledonia; although small 
deposits of workable ore have been mined in Norway, and nickeliferous 
and chromiferous iron ore occurs in Cuba. 

The deposits of Sudbury are relatively far more important than those 
of any other field. Therefore Great Britain (through Canada) possesses 
by all means the largest and most important nickel deposits, amounting 
practically to an exclusive control. Previously American capital exerted 



WHO OWNS THE EARTH? 529 

a dominant commercial control over the nickel industry, through its 
ownership of the largest ore reserves and its control of smelting and refin- 
ing plants in the United States. One of these American companies has 
also the second largest holdings in New Caledonia. The British govern- 
ment plainly has taken means to overcome this commercial domination. 
A large company has gone into business at Sudbury, in which the British 
government has the controlling interest. The government has also 
brought about the transfer of the refining operations of the International 
Nickel Company from New Jersey to Ontario, so that the entire industry 
will be confined to Canada. 

Tungsten. — The greatest tungsten-producing region is that of eastern 
Asia; the region of the United States and Mexico second; that of Bolivia 
and neighboring countries in South America third; and fourth comes the 
province of Portugal, Spain, and Italy. There seem to be no very large 
and concentrated tungsten deposits ; and nearly all of those worked give 
signs of being easily exhausted. There may be therefore a world tungsten 
shortage in the future. Possibly Bolivia will prove to be the most dur- 
able field. 

As to the commercial control, it is entirely in British hands, and this 
through the active policy of the British government. Actual control 
is obtained through the ferrotungsten makers, to whom the ores go for 
treatment. On this basis the commercial control in 1917 was: British 
14,606 tons; American 9,479 tons; Japanese 1,165 tons; French 1,057 
tons; and Germany 360 tons. 

American capital controls the tungsten deposits within its own bor- 
ders and in Mexico, and is largely interested in Bolivia and China. 
Before the war Germany controlled probably half the tungsten output, 
the other half being divided among the United States, England and 
France. At the present time, the control through ownership of mines 
and smelters is as follows: Great Britain 54 per cent.; United States 35 
per cent.; Japan 4 per cent.; France 4 per cent.; and Germany 1 per 
cent. 

Vanadium. — Vanadium is an important ferro-alloy metal. Vana- 
dium steel has great toughness and torsional strength, and is used in 
automobile parts, gun barrels, and the like. Chromium-vanadium 
steels have an extensive market. 

The largest and most important deposits of vanadium in the world 
are in Peru, and until recently were controlled by the American Vanadium 
Company (an American firm), which has a concession from the Peruvian 
government. Otherwise the most important deposits are found in 
southwest Colorado, and were till very lately controlled by the Primos 
Chemical Company, of Pennsylvania. The American Vanadium Com- 
pany had an absolute world monopoly of vanadium products and ferro- 
vanadium, until the entrance into the field of the Primos company. 

34 



530 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Quite recently the holdings of both these companies have been taken 
over by the Vanadium Corporation, allied to the Bethlehem Steel 
Corporation. 

Antimony. — Antimony has a relatively restricted use in peace-time, 
but war creates (for the manufacture of shrapnel) a vastly increased 
demand. Under normal circumstances the supply is far in excess of the 
demand. China has long been the most important source of supply, 
and is likely so to continue. France and Algeria are also producers, as 
is Mexico; and other countries produce under the stimulus of high prices. 
The United States, as well as Canada, has relatively small reserves and 
normally small production. In the early part of the European war, 
however, in 1915 and 1916, countries like Bolivia, Mexico, Australia, the 
United States, Peru, Burma, and Spain contributed important amounts; 
but none of these will be important factors at the usual low prices. 

Prior to the war, England was the chief antimony-smelting center of 
the world. Ores from all over the world were there treated, and the 
British brands were considered purer than others, and virtually monopo- 
lized the world's markets, including those of the United States During 
the great demand in 1915 and 1916, British interests completely controlled 
the Bolivian industry. Until 1914 one of the principal English companies 
held contracts for the production of the Wah Chang Company, the most 
important antimony producers in China; but in 1914 this company 
established an independent selling agency in the Uuited States. This 
tends to transfer the control of the antimony market from England 
to China. With all her vast mineral resources, China has been able to 
obtain an important position in the world's markets with regard to but 
few metals. Of these antimony is the most striking example. Since 
1908 over 50 per cent, of the world's total antimony production has come 
from China. 

Molybdenum. — The use of molybdenum in steel making is as yet al- 
most in the experimental stage, but it is likely to become important. It 
is valuable in electric work. 

Up to about 1916 practically all the molybdenum ore (molybdenite, 
a sulphide of molybdenum) came from Australia and Norway. Shortly 
after the opening of the war, the molybdenite in Canada became promi- 
nent; and later the United States came to the fore as a producer. At 
present the United States can probably produce as much if not more 
molybdenum than all the rest of the world put together, principally 
from the great newly discovered deposits at Climax, Colorado. Before 
this development, Great Britain was the largest producer, in Australia 
and Canada. Both the British and the Canadian governments have 
been much interested in the development of the Canadian molybdenum, 
and the Canadian government has built a mill for the concentration of 
the ores. Prior to the war, the German-controlled American Metal 
Company, a branch of the German "metal octopus," obtained, through a 



WHO OWNS THE EARTH? 531 

subsidiary, a large share in the control of the Climax deposits; and the 
Primos Chemical Company, which had strong German connections 
before the war, produced ferromolybdenum from ore from its own mine 
at Empire, Colorado. This, together with the great interest taken 
by Germany and German capital in molybdenum elsewhere, led to the 
rumor of attempted German control of American molybdenum. 

Uranium. — Uranium is valuable for the manufacture of special steel, 
although only used in small quantities. It is of extraordinary interest 
on account of its association with radium, both being obtained princi- 
pally from the minerals carnotite and uraninite (including pitchblende) . 
Radium is used in medicine, and for luminous paint. The only regions 
which have yet produced large amounts of radium and uranium on a 
commercial scale are in the United States and Austria. At the present 
time the United States is producing several times as much as all other 
countries combined. 

Zirconium. — Zirconium is used in electric lighting, and experiments 
have been made with zirconium steel. During the war it was at one 
time thought to be of unusual value as a ferro-alloy. Zirconium occurs 
in nature as the mixed oxide and silicate, baddeleyite, and as the silicate 
zircon. The baddeleyite deposits, having a higher percentage of zirco- 
nium, will probably become the chief source of the metal. It occurs in 
commercial quantities only in Brazil. Zircon deposits are found in Bra- 
zil, and also in India; and a deposit of minor note occurs in the United 
States (Florida). 

Thorium and Mesothorium. — With zirconium must be considered 
monazite, a mineral which is the source of thorium and mesothorium. 
Thorium nitrate is used in the manufacture of Welsbach mantles for gas 
burners; mesothorium is a by-product of its manufacture from monazite, 
and is a radioactive substance used as a substitute for radium in making 
luminous paints and for therapeutic purposes. The zircon minerals and 
monazite typically occur together in river or beach sands. Like the 
zirconium minerals, monazite comes mainly from Brazil and India; 
although it has in the past been mined successfully in the United States, 
the industry is now extinct. 

The thorium nitrate industry of the United States is closely controlled 
by two companies, the American Welsbach Company, and the Lindsay 
Light Company. During the war they furnished thorium nitrate also 
to England and France, thus exercising a world-wide control. 

THE MAJOR NON-FERROUS METALS 

Copper. — The United States stands out predominantly as the world's 
great copper producer, producing in 1917 60 per cent, of the world's 
output. No other country produces one-sixth as much as the United 
States. American capital controls (in part through control of refining) 
78 per cent, of the world's production. 



532 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

Germany has been one of the largest consumers of copper, though not 
a large producer. Because of this, German interests have in the past 
secured a considerable control over copper supplies, as well as those of 
lead, zinc, and other metals, through refining and selling contracts with 
mining companies. Such control does not as a rule extend to ownership 
of mines or smelters. Thus for many years companies affiliated with the 
great German Metal Combine (Metallgeselschaft) were influential in the 
copper business of the United States. There were three of these com- 
panies in the United States, the American Metal Company, L. Vogelstein 
& Co., and Beer-Sondheimer & Co. Recently the first two have con- 
solidated; and all were Americanized during the war. 

The commercial control of the copper in the world, as based on owner- 
ship of mines, is, in even figures: United States capital, 69 per cent, (en- 
tirely in the Western Hemisphere) ; British capital, 13 per cent, (in both 
hemispheres, but mainly in the Eastern) ; Japanese, 8 per cent, (entirely 
domestic) ; German, 6 per cent. ; and French, 2 per cent. It will be noted 
that of the present production three-quarters comes from the Western 
Hemisphere (North and South America) and only one-quarter from the 
rest of the world. It is probable that this is a fair index of the relative 
wealth. The future production of South America will probably in- 
crease more rapidly than that of North America, which was earlier 
developed. It is necessary for the permanent control of the copper 
situation by the United States that American capital should continue 
to be foremost in the development of South America. 

Lead. — The United States is the largest producer of lead in the world 
and has large resources. Next to the United States, in the order named, 
come Australia, Spain, Germany, and Mexico. Three powers — the 
United States, British Empire, and Spain — produce 76 per cent, of the 
total; and of these the United States and Great Britain produce 60 per 
cent. 

The most striking feature about the lead industry is the fact that as 
the German system of far-reaching commercial control under government 
auspices — through smelting, refining, and selling — was destroyed, 
this system was at once adopted by the British and French. In other 
words, they found that the German plan had been so effective that they 
not only blocked it permanently so far as their own countries were con- 
cerned, but organized similar commercial-political combinations which 
should not only take care of all their own lead business, but, like the Ger- 
man organization, should reach out into other countries. The German 
combination still remains active outside the territory of the former 
Allies. 

Of all the great lead-producing powers the United States is the only 
one which does not possess a government-controlled lead monopoly. 
Threatened commercial world monopolies of lead, as of other minerals, 
have therefore, through the revival of nationalistic spirit due to the war, 



WHO OWNS THE EARTH? 533 

given place to national-commercial monopolies by three powers (Ger- 
many, France, and Great Britain), each intended to become as world- 
wide as possible, and thus competitive with each other and with the 
purely commercial organizations of the American lead industry. In 
England this movement has taken the form of a British Metals Corpora- 
tion (covering not only lead but other metals). The British Treasury 
is represented on the Board of Directors. 

In France, the nationalist movement has resulted in the formation of 
consortiums or trade monopolies for each industry, organized under 
government auspices. That of the mineral industry is the Societe 
Minerals et Metaux. The official announcement states that this society 
is organized under the auspices of the French government, in order to 
group the French metal producers, operating both at home and abroad, 
into a co-operative association for the purchase and sale of metallurgical 
products. 

In America, the principal commercial factor is the American Smelt- 
ing & Refining Co., dominating the market through its control 
of reduction plants, although it controls directly only one-third the 
production. 

Zinc. — Zinc and lead are commonly associated in mineral deposits, so 
that their geological and geographical distribution is nearly identical. 
Of the world's production of zinc, the United States produces 35 per cent., 
Germany 25 per cent., Australia 15 per cent., and Italy 5 per cent. 

Up to the outbreak of the war in 1914, the position of zinc was ex- 
treme among the metals, in that political control or state sovereignty 
exercised only a minor effect upon the industry. " Economic factors," 
says our author, "made ineffective any control not international in 
scope. A very large percentage of the zinc ores of the world were trans- 
ported from the country of production to another for treatment, in some 
cases even being re-exported." During the war, however, political 
control was largely invoked to strengthen and restore commercial control 
to the chief belligerent nations. This movement was particularly marked 
in the British Empire, where there now exists, as above noted in the para- 
graphs discussing lead, a joint political and commercial control. Alien 
interests were eliminated by government action, and the government 
retained a share in the control through interests in marketing organiza- 
tions or financial participation in treatment works. 

In the zinc industry, as in that of its closely associated metals, copper 
and lead, the ownership or control of reduction plants, and more partic- 
ularly marketing organizations, have been more important in determin- 
ing commercial control than state sovereignty or commercial ownership 
of mines. In recent years the marketing organizations became world- 
wide and completely dominated the industry. The ambition of German 
commercial interests to control the metal markets and resources of the 
world was more nearly realized in the case of zinc than of any other metal. 



534 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

In France, as noted above in the case of lead, a government-controlled 
metal marketing organization has been formed for the same purpose — 
protection and advantage in competition. However, British domination 
of the European zinc industry seems certain. Only the American indus- 
try remains untouched by close organization under government auspices. 
Should Germany lose Silesia, she will probably become a small factor in 
the zinc industry. With so many doors closed in her face by the British 
and French political and commercial combinations, there should be gov- 
ernmental precautions taken by the American Government that she should 
not re-establish herself in the United States, nor so far as possible (follow- 
ing out to its logical conclusion the Monroe Doctrine) in the rest of 
North and South America. 

Note that in the zinc industry, as well as in every other industry, 
Japan is rapidly expanding, and having reached the limit of her own re- 
sources, her field of growth is in Korea, China, and Siberia. Japan's 
present zinc-smelting capacity is greater than her domestic consumption, 
and much greater than the domestic ore supply; and ore is imported from 
China, Siberia, Indo-China, and Australia. 

Tin. — Tin belongs to a group of minerals that are classifiable together 
by the fact that they are not of widespread distribution, but are found in 
really commercial quantity only on a few spots of the globe, and yet are 
absolutely necessary for our industrial civilization. Such also are 
chromium, platinum, potash salts, nitrates, and nickel. Of this political- 
commercial group, tin is an important member. It is noteworthy of 
this group that the United States is not the lucky holder of the first prize 
in any of these cases. In the case of chromium, it is mainly the French 
and British colonies, of platinum it is Russia and Colombia, of potash 
salts it is Germany, of nitrates it is Chili, of nickel again the British and 
French colonies, and in the case of tin it is southeastern Asia and Bolivia. 

The United States produces less than one-fifth of 1 per cent, of 
its requirements, and its control of foreign tin resources through mine 
ownership is negligible. On the other hand, the United States consumes 
over half the tin of the world, and is the largest manufacturer and dis- 
tributor of tin products. The tin-mining and smelting industry of the 
world is dominated by Great Britain. 

Tin is used in the manufacture of tin plate, in solder, brass, and many 
other essential uses, and no satisfactory substitute is available. In 
war as well as peace, tin cans are as necessary as rifles. Aluminum is the 
most likely possible substitute for tin in containers, and the United States 
controls the aluminum industry. About 68 per cent, of the tin is pro- 
duced at present from southeastern Asia and neighboring islands, 21 per 
cent, from Bolivia, 4 per cent, from Nigeria and South Africa, and 3 
per cent, from England. The Bolivian production will probably tend 
to increase. 



WHO OWNS THE EARTH? 535 

Mercury. — Mercury, or quicksilver, is a mineral of some importance, 
although by far not in the class of the last four discussed above. It is 
useful for drugs and chemicals; as a detonator for high explosives; as a 
pigment; for treating gold and silver ores; and for many other uses. The 
greatest quicksilver deposits in the world are in Spain. The United 
States comes second. The important Idria mine, near Trieste, formerly 
Austrian, but at last accounts in possession of Italy, takes third place. 
The production from the rest of the world is small. Spain, Italy, and the 
United States, therefore, divide the production and the control through 
state sovereignty. The great mine of Spain, the Almaden (the greatest 
in the world), is also owned and worked by the Spanish government. 
The Spanish government contracts, on the basis of competitive proposals, 
with the successful bidder for the sale of quicksilver for a term of ten 
years. For a number of successive periods, the contract has been awarded 
to the Rothschilds of London. By this arrangement the market is con- 
trolled in London; and during the war the sale was taken over by the 
British government. The control of the marketing of the product of 
this mine enables those in control to fix the price of quicksilver in the 
world's markets. 

Aluminum. — An important metal at present, and one bound to be 
eventually still more important, is aluminum. While one of the prin- 
cipal constituents of all rocks, in the form of silicates, its release from that 
combination is so difficult that it has not been solved on a commercial 
scale. Since there is much more aluminum than iron in the earth's 
compounds, however, there will never be a shortage, if cost is disregarded. 
"Commercial aluminum is manufactured from the oxide, bauxite. Bauxite 
is also used directly as an abrasive and also as a refractory. The largest 
bauxite deposits are controlled politically by the United States and 
France, with the British Empire in a favorable prospective position. 
The aluminum works of the world are controlled by Great Britain, France, 
and Germany, and also Switzerland, Italy, and Norway. The aluminum 
industry of the United States and Canada is practically in the hands of 
one company, the Aluminum Company of America, which also holds 
interests in South America and other countries. The French producers 
of aluminum have effected a central organization through the incorpora- 
tion of a selling company, L'Aluminium Francaise. The British Alumin- 
ium Company is the sole producer in England, and controls the Irish 
deposits. 

THE NON -METALLIC MINERALS 

Emery and Corundum. — Abrasives are essential and important in the 
industries. Chief, perhaps, in the group of natural abrasives are emery 
and corundum, which are superior in hardness to other abrasives such as 
quartz, tripoli, garnet, and pumice. They are used in grinding and 
polishing metals — chiefly iron and steel — and glass. Commercially im- 



536 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

portant deposits of emery and corundum are located in the Appalachian 
region of the United States., on the islands of the Grecian Archipelago 
(especially Naxos), in Asia Minor, India, Madagascar, and South Africa. 
There is little control other than that inherent in state sovereignty. 

Magnesite. — Magnesite is a mineral of some importance, used mainly 
in metallurgical operations and as a refractory material for lining 
furnaces; also for the manufacture of a cement for flooring. Magnesite 
is not a rare mineral, and deposits are widespread. Productive and 
commercial deposits are located in the United States (California and 
Washington), Canada, Mexico (Lower California), Venezuela, Austria, 
Germany, Spain, Greece, and other countries. Not rare enough to be 
the subject of great combinations, the interesting international feature 
of the trade is that which centers in the United States. Until recently 
large magnesite deposits were not known in the United States, but in the 
last few years vast deposits have been developed in California and Oregon. 
Previous to the war, the deposits of Austria were mainly drawn on by 
consumers in the Eastern United States, and during the war Canadian 
magnesite was mainly used. American firms own considerable interests 
in the deposits in Austria, and probably in some of those in Canada, 
Mexico and Venezuela. 

Graphite. — Graphite is used for crucibles for steel and brass making, 
for foundry facings, pencils, shoe polish, as a lubricant, etc. Crystalline 
graphite only is used for crucibles. The supply of this for American 
consumption was one of the problems of the war. Of the crystalline 
graphite deposits, it is believed that those of the French colony of Mada- 
gascar will, on account of their richness — if competition is free — supplant 
American and German deposits; the deposits of Ceylon are regarded as 
on the wane. Amorphous graphite will probably come from Austria, 
Mexico and Korea. The deposits of the United States are extensive but 
of low grade. 

Mica. — Mica is an essential mineral, especially in electrical work. 
One of the commonest minerals of nearly all rocks, it becomes valuable 
only when it occurs in crystals or sheets of large size, which are of com- 
paratively rare occurrence, being found only in certain pegmatite dikes. 
India, Canada, and the United States produce about 98 per cent, of the 
sheet mica of the world. Brazil, Argentina, and the former German East 
Africa are becoming important. India produces 65 per cent, of the 
total world production; the United States only 15 per cent. Brazilian 
mica is expected to be of much greater importance in the future than 
in the past, although India will doubtless retain its position as the most 
important producer. 

The British Empire controls 75 per cent, of the sheet-mica production. 
Before the war, Germany had obtained a large measure of commercial 
control in Indian mines, and by virtue of her dominant position in the 
electrical industry, threatened to control the mica market of the world. 



WHO OWNS THE EARTH? 537 

The United States is now the largest consumer; but as the important 
development of the electrical industry in England during the war places 
it in the position formerly occupied by Germany and Austria, it requires 
a larger supply of the mica from India, and this may lead to a permanent 
British control. London is the distributing center for Indian mica, and 
London prices regulate the market. During the war Indian mica was 
controlled by the British government and allotted to the Allied nations 
at fixed prices. A permanent British monopoly of the mica market can 
probably best be obviated by the development of the Brazilian field by 
American electrical manufacturers. 

Asbestos. — Asbestos is an essential mineral, on account of its incom- 
bustibility and insulating qualities, together with its fibrous structure, 
which enables it to be spun or woven into ropes and fabrics; and on this 
account it has a wide and varied use. There are mineralogically three 
kinds of asbestos — chrysotile, crocidolite, and anthophyllite — the last 
being, as a rule, of non-spinning quality. Chrysotile is the most valuable 
commercially : crocidolite, or blue asbestos, will not bear high temperature 
like the other varieties, and on account of its low fusibility is useful for 
electric welding. Therefore, the main asbestos problem centers about 
the deposits of high-grade chrysotile, especially as the supplies of antho- 
phyllite asbestos are abundant, and with its restricted uses, ample for an 
indefinite period. The most important deposits of chrysotile asbestos 
are in Quebec, Canada, but large deposits are also worked in Russia and 
Rhodesia. 

The United States is by far the largest manufacturer of asbestos 
products in the world, but produces only a small fraction of the necessary 
materials. The presence of the deposits in Canada, however, provides 
the American industry with an ample supply. British companies hold 
exclusive control of the production of South Africa, Australasia, and 
Italy: of these, South Africa includes the Rhodesian deposits of chrys- 
otile, which are among the most important in the world. Altogether, 
the British Empire is in a dominating position, controlling about 88 per 
cent, of the annual asbestos pioduction of the world and approximately 
70 per cent of the estimated reserves. Canada is in the lead of all 
countries, supplying about 85 per cent, of the world's production. 
Should the British policy as to other mineral industries be carried out in 
the case of asbestos we may expect action on the part of the British or 
Canadian government to transfer the center of asbestos manufacture from 
the United States to Canada or England. 

THE FERTILIZER MINERALS 

We have above touched on four great groups of minerals — the fuel 
minerals, the steel and ferro-alloy minerals, the major non-ferrous min- 
erals, and the non-metallic minerals. Next comes a group by itself — the 
fertilizer minerals or elementary substances, chief among which are 



538 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

phosphate rock, potash, nitrates, and sulphur and sulphuric acid. All 
of these appear essential to the re-invigorating of the soil as successive 
crops are removed, and so to securing a permanency of its original 
productivity. 

Phosphate Rock. — Phosphate rock is a natural substance which is 
used mainly as an ingredient of fertilizers, being finely ground and used 
directly. Large quantities are also used for making phosphoric acid and 
phosphorus, the latter being used in matches, etc. Phosphate rock is a 
bedded or sedimentary deposit containing phosphate of lime; phosphate 
of lime also occurs as nodules in stream beds. Another type of deposit 
commonly classed as phosphate rock is the porous coral or limestone of 
tropical islands, permeated with phosphate leached from guano. The 
phosphate rock deposits of present commercial importance are located in 
the United States, Algeria, Tunis, and Egypt, the United States possess- 
ing by far the largest reserves. The United States has also the largest 
industry of production. Politically the principal deposits are controlled 
by the United States, France (Tunis and Algeria) and Great Britain 
(Egypt). The commercial control of the deposits of the United States 
is mainly in the hands of Americans, although German and French inter- 
ests own some of the hard-rock deposits. The deposits of Algeria and 
Tunis are controlled by two companies, one British and the other Italian. 
Germany will be without a source of supply under her own control now 
that her colonies have been forfeited. 

From the above it will be seen that there is no probability of a world 
control or monopoly of phosphates. The United States is in a position 
to command the market unless nationalistic legislation in the various 
countries is enacted to protect and advance their own industries. 

Potash. — Potash is a most important fertilizer, over 90 per cent, 
of all potash used being so employed, the remainder going into the manu- 
facture of explosives and glass, and into the chemical industry. 

Up to 1914 practically al the world's supply of potash came from the 
great natural rock-salt deposits of Stassfurt, Germany. Next in im- 
portance come the deposits of Alsace, containing sufficient to supply the 
world's present demands for 300 years. Large undeveloped deposits 
exist in northeastern Spain. Germany made active practical use of her 
natural potash wealth in erecting a government monopoly, which sup- 
plied the world. This advantage was made much of in her plans for 
further political and commercial conquest, and in the writings of the 
vainglorious Teutons. In potash, they openly boasted, they had an all- 
powerful commercial weapon which would oblige other nations to supply 
in exchange raw materials such as Germany needed, as cotton and copper 
from the United States. With her political collapse, however, her com- 
mercial potash monopoly has also gone. The vast deposits of Alsatian 
potash have gone to France, and while German potash may still perhaps 



WHO OWNS THE EARTH? 539 

be produced and sold more cheaply, the Alsatian deposits will act as a 
check. A commercial combination between the two, and including the 
Spanish deposits, is, however, not at all out of the question. Potash 
is one of the commonest elements in the earth, and in the United States 
there is an abundant supply but it is largely in the form of silicates, 
and so more difficult and expensive to extract than from the soluble 
natural salts of Germany. 

Nitrates. — Nitrates are essential in an extraordinary degree, in vari- 
ous ways: as fertilizer, and so essential to food and life; as the source of 
ammonia, and therefore necessary to the modern system of food refrigera- 
tion; as an essential ingredient in explosives, and thus indispensable for 
the national defense. Just as potash is one of the commonest elements 
of the earth, so nitrogen is one of the commonest elements of the air, of 
which it constitutes four-fifths. It should not, therefore, be hard to 
get; but to isolate it and catch it in usable form — in technical terms, to 
"fix" it — is difficult, slow and expensive. Nature has not done much 
toward "fixing" nitrogen in her mineral supplies; and although it is 
constantly being " fixed" in animal and vegetable organisms, it is largely 
soon returned to the atmosphere as ammonia or in other forms, or, 
being in the form of soluble salts, is leached from the soil and carried 
away, either to be transformed again to the atmosphere, or, rarely, to be 
accumulated under arid conditions by evaporation into mineral deposits. 
For some hitherto unexplained reason, only in Chili have mineral de- 
posits of importance thus been formed; and the Chilean deposits have till 
lately supplied the world, giving Chile even a far more exclusive position 
as regards nitrates than was held by Germany as regards potash; but 
there has never been any monopolistic control of the Chilean nitrate 
supply. Besides this mineral source, and the obtaining of nitrogen from 
the air by fixation, important sources of fertilizer nitrogen are contained 
in organic matter — refuse vegetable or animal remains, or animal ex- 
creta — and also from coal, as a by-product of coke manufacture. 

Previous to the war, Germany anticipated being deprived of Chilean 
nitrate by developing fixation and by-product processes, through which 
she supplied herself during the war. Other countries have not been so 
thorough. During the war, the danger of the United States being cut 
off from supplies of Chilean nitrates by the German submarine cam- 
paign, led to the Government projecting and starting four large and 
expensive plants for nitrogen fixation. They were unfinished when the 
war closed. 

About five-eighths or less of the nitrogen consumed has been from 
various organic sources, including the by-production from coke making. 
By-product nitrogen in the United States is estimated at around one- 
eighth of the entire supply. The remaining three-eighths has been fur- 
nished largely by Chilean nitrates. 



540 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

THE PRECIOUS METALS 

Gold. — In the group of precious metals, gold is of the most importance, 
mainly as the time-honored and unreplaceable measure of value and 
medium of exchange. This position it has sometimes shared with silver, 
but no country has ever refused to thus recognize gold. 

Gold is found all over the world, but the British Empire produces 60 
per cent, of it, while the United States produces 20 per cent. Political 
and commercial control are nearly identical in the case of gold, which is 
easily reduced to the metal state and thenceforth passes current, requiring 
no selling agencies. Due to the commerce brought on by the war, the 
United States now has a larger gold reserve than any other nation. 

Silver. — " Silver," says our author, "is used both for money and in the 
arts, the former use being the more important and more essential. In 
some countries, especially those producing silver in large amounts, it is 
the money standard, either alone or with gold. In other countries on a 
gold standard silver is used for subsidiary coinage. In India and China 
it is used for the settlement of foreign trade exchange balances." 

In countries with elaborate financial systems, where paper currency 
is freely accepted, as in the United States and Europe, it is not such an es- 
sential money metal; but in other countries it directly replaces and con- 
serves gold. On this account silver is not an article of luxury, but an 
essential. The coinage of silver increased in Europe as the war pro- 
gressed, and was essential in bringing supplies from the Far East to the 
battle fronts. While the normal annual silver production is around 
159,000,000 ounces, the demand during 1918 exceeded 500,000,000 
ounces. Silver production adds to the stock of money, increases con- 
fidence in financial conditions, and furnishes, with and subsidiary to gold, 
a basis for credit. About half of the world's silver output is as a by- 
product of the production of other metals, notably lead and copper; and 
accordmgly the production of silver is largely independent of the price. 

Of the world's total silver production, over 80 per cent, comes from 
the mines of the Western Hemisphere. For many years Mexico was the 
leading producer, until all its industries became disorganized by revolu- 
tion. The United States, always a close second, is now in a leading 
position. Canada, Central America, and South America are important. 
In the Eastern Hemisphere, Australia is the leading producer. 

The principal silver deposits of the world are controlled politically by 
the United States, Mexico, and Great Britain, these three controlling 85 
per cent, of the total production in 1913. 

Platinum. — Platinum is controlled chiefly by Russia, being produced 
otherwise in important quantity only in Colombia. American interests 
predominate in Colombia. Before the war there was an interlocking of 
the interests of the platinum refiners of the United States, Germany, and 
Great Britain, with the German influence very marked. 




*1 



to | 2 
5 85 






l-N 





-1 


— O 








3> 
O 


5 


g* 


0! 


*K> 


iS 


5 s 


41 


3S 


=2 2 


a,rs» 


</»—- 



«>£ 






32,016 Short Tons 



POLITICAL CONTROL (TERRITORIAL') 



: BRITISH EMPlRu ?.h" 




BRITISH EMPIRE S4, $v | ALL ? T i; i[ ERS 



BRITISH EMPIRE 85% > 



Igg BRITISH EMPIRE 22% FRANCE): ITALY I 6ERMA1 



,. i , . ■ , i , ... . , . i I. 



^millllllimilllM "^"¥T^T|iT 

) STATES IS'.gg.'; '//// ,.,.;',' I.SPAIN 55%;,1 




BRJTI IH MPIRE 87% :VJ§-'5$ 



li 






Fio. 23. — The control according to political sovereignty (te 



-J 

< 
o 

z 

2-5 



8 




COMMERCIAL CONTROL (FINANCIAL) 

(Percentages are Estimated) 



PLATINUM 1913 

261,25} Troy Ounces 



BRITISH EMPIRE 24% 2 "GERMANY 21% 1^ 



# MXOTHERS 13% 




EMPI-RE • 63°, 




,:8RITISH EMPIRE 67%: 




IIP 

!til3_ 




nil h m Economi'sf 
USBuffouof n.*« . r 3y 1, 191 



Vui. 24, — The control, according to commercial or financial ownership of tlie world's mineral 



C/nwrt/oHmHivF^.23) 



WHO OWNS THE EARTH? 541 

Who Owns the Earth? — The answer to our inquiry at the head of 
this chapter, "Who Owns the Earth?" is therefore answered by these 
summaries, and is further set forth in the accompanying charts, one 
showing political (or, rather, in tbis case, strictly territorial) control, and 
the other commercial control, Figs. 23 and 24. As based upon the 
territorial and commercial control of the fundamental minerals, it appears 
that the earth is owned by the two great Anglo-Saxon nations, the 
United States and the British Empire: the former by destiny and good 
fortune and without political plan or policy, in that such a vast store of 
mineral wealth was found in the great sparsely populated wilderness of 
America which it occupied; the latter through the imperial policy of 
Britain, developed through hundreds of years by the need of extending 
commerce and the flag into far-off lands to supplant the slender resources 
of its own limited islands. Of the two, the United States is rather in the 
lead, and possesses and controls more of the world's mineral wealth than 
any other nation; but Great Britain is a close second. 

Rapid changes occur, however, in these days, and the future must be 
inspected. The imperial policy of expansion and increasing political 
control has become a tradition and an instinct with Great Britain; she 
learned since the loss of her American colonies to give full autonomy to 
her more intelligent colonies, so that she strengthens her dominion there- 
by, and persistently goes on her way putting more and more of the earth 
under the British flag. The wealth and resources of the United States 
being so far greater than its necessities, foreign problems have resolved into 
occasional questions of self-protection; and from this condition a directly 
resulting theory has sprung, of non-interference in the rest of the world. 
Like China, we declare ourselves apart from the world, and simply ask 
to be left alone, in consideration of which we agree to leave the world 
alone. Our Monroe Doctrine as originated is part of that theory — we 
wanted the world to leave all the Americas alone, but took no responsi- 
bility for the Americas otherwise — a selfish and one-sided position. 

The manner in which we cling to this doctrine is stupid and ineffective : 
while we have conceived of it only as applying to military or political 
encroachment, we have overlooked the modern phase of commercial 
conquest. Thereby we gain the suspicion of our Latin-American neigh- 
bors, who accordingly welcome more gladly European or Japanese rather 
than American capital; and thus we encourage the very encroachments 
we have thought to prevent. We should either abandon the Monroe 
Doctrine entirely, or define it also in terms of political control. 

Therefore, as regards our great industries, and, more specifically, our 
mineral industries, we have never had any definite policy; our troubles 
and problems were purely internal, and the Government's efforts were 
largely directed to preventing such solidarity of any one industry that its 
power should be too great, although American organizing genius first 
successfully developed these colossal business combinations, rising without 



542 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

government support. England, too, and France, with their democratic 
traditions, tended to resist the overwhelming power of great business 
organizations, as leading to the destruction of equal opportunity and 
threatening the power of the state. It remained for Germany, pressing 
impudently toward the conquest of the world, to see the advantage of 
combining the powers of the state with those of business monopolies, as 
a means of regulating industry at home and overpowering other nations. 
Thus the old question of the union or separation of Church and State 
becomes one of Business and State. 

The success of this plan of German penetration was most clearly and 
disagreeably brought home to the British mind, as well as to the French 
and the American perception, by the war, and during the war England 
took under government control her mineral industries more definitely and 
systematically than did we. Moreover, perceiving the success of the 
German system as a means of penetration and as a method against com- 
petitors, she has adopted it, there being a striking tendency to put her 
key industries under syndicates, unions, cartels, or trusts controlled 
directly by the state. 

A system of state socialism thus takes the place of the freedom of 
individual competition. As regards the mineral industries, much the 
same action has been taken by France. But in America, dropping all the 
problems and half-learned lessons of the war, we return to the status 
quo ante. If this difference continues, it is certain that British control 
of the earth — whereby we mean its minerals — will eventually prepon- 
derate. As far as we are concerned, we should perhaps rather see it in 
the hands of Great Britain than of any other power, but" must we not 
decide upon our own course as a rich and populous nation of an increas- 
ingly close-packed but seething and yet unorganized globe? 

Our statesmen, newspapers, and financiers proclaim to the world that 
we intend to take the lion's share of the world's shipping and commerce. 
England says nothing, but puts her government directly behind her own 
industries, while the American Government still holds aloof from them. 
Nationalism has been revived in Europe, and especially in England and 
France, as the result of the struggle to prevail against the intense German 
nationalistic spirit, which all but subjugated a world drifting comfortably 
into internationalism. It is conceivably a step backward, a reversion, 
but what attitude shall America take? The British and French nation- 
alism need not disquiet us so much as that of the Japanese, still more 
intense and purposeful, and working with the same German tools (not 
invented in Germany, but in America, but, like most German arts, 
successfully copied and utilized), now adopted by England and France 
in self-defense. America also has had a rebirth of nationalism, quite 
necessary in the existing state of affairs. 

As the case now stands, the United States largely predominates in 
the petroleum industry, with 71 per cent, of the world's production in 



WHO OWNS THE EARTH? 543 

1917; England, far behind, is in a way to overtake us with giant strides 
under her new system. In the basic necessities of coal and iron, the 
United States also leads. The second place in the steel industry, held by 
Germany, was presumably lost as a result of the war, and probably passes 
to England, already second in coal and with her iron industries in charge 
of a government-controlled syndicate for purposes of protection and 
expansion. 

In copper, the United States is far away in the lead, with England 
a long second, and in lead, also, with half the world's production, with 
England second. Before the war England and Germany were about tied 
for second place, and the latter was rapidly drawing ahead through her 
state-controlled commercial methods; but the war will set her back 
greatly. In zinc, the United States had the greatest production (32 
per cent.) before the war, slightly more than Germany (28 per cent.), 
but German methods gave it the preponderance of actual commercial 
control. The result of the war will restore the commercial supremacy to 
the United States, and the importance of England will increase. In 
silver, the United States now leads in production and in both territorial 
and commercial control, and, by her commercial control over Mexican 
production, controls one-half of the world's output, with Great Britain 
a strong commercial second, having nearly 40 per cent, of it. 

In the production of the important mineral, sulphur, the United States 
is far in advance of the world, with 65 per cent, of the world's production 
in 1916. Italy is second, Japan third, and England is practically un- 
represented. Phosphate rock is dominated, both territorially and 
commercially, by the United States, but there are other supplies for 
England, and France has abundance in her own territory. Vanadium 
is commercially controlled by the United States, although territorially by 
Peru. Molybdenum has very lately come to be controlled by the United 
States, with Great Britain, formerly first, now second. In uranium and 
radium the United States also has first place, with Austria a long second. 
The aluminum industry is strongest in the United States, although very 
important also in France. 

In the following, however, Great Britain has control: the important 
"key industry" of tin, where her territorial control is one-half and her 
commercial control absolute, whereas the United States is not repre- 
sented; in the important nickel industry, by territorial control of 80 per 
cent., and by a commercial control that is now probably predominant 
over the strong American interests, as a result of an active government 
policy; in tungsten, where she controls territorially the greatest produc- 
tion (34 per cent.), and where she has commercial supremacy, controlling 
54 per cent. (1917), the United States being second, with a commercial 
control of 35 per cent, (although its territorial control is only 17 per 
cent., about equal to that of Bolivia). 

In manganese, Russia nominally leads, with 36 per cent, commercial 



544 POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY 

control (55 per cent, of the world's production in 1913) ; but under present 
conditions the effect is to give England the lead, with the United States 
in a position of minor importance. In chromium, Great Britain and 
France control through a syndicate, in which the British interest is in the 
majority, and the United States occupies a subordinate position with 
regard to both these countries. In gold production the British Empire 
controls 63 per cent.; the United States 23 per cent. In graphite in 1913 
the British Empire was second to Austria-Hungary. It will now take the 
first place, and the United States will be a competitor. In asbestos, the 
British Empire produces 87 per cent, and controls commercially 63 per 
cent, of the world's total, the United States being negligible in production, 
but second in commercial control (of Canadian asbestos). Mercury, ter- 
ritorially, is mainly in the hands of Spain, but the industry is actually 
dominated by England, under selling arrangements. Antimony has long 
been controlled by England, but control may revert to China, which 
means the possibility of its becoming Japanese. Mica, essential for 
electrical work, is controlled by Great Britain. 

Only a few minerals remain in which most of the industry is not in the 
hands of either the United States or England : potash, formerly a German 
monopoly, and now divided between Germany and France, with Ger- 
many likely predominant; and mineral nitrates, in Chilean territory, with 
no marked national commercial control other than that of Chile. 

Both America and England are strong in their grip on the world's 
mineral industries — England much stronger than before the war and with 
a freshly set purpose to expand. A combination of these two countries 
would amount to a practical world control of minerals, and, with France, 
a little stronger control. This much for the present, but uncertain quan- 
tities loom shadowy, in the destiny of Russia, the future of Asia, and the 
progress of Japan. Japan is intently embarking on a course toward the 
domination of Asia, politically and commercially. Her present position 
is not so significant as the consideration of her rapid progress, the knowl- 
edge of the rich field in which she is to work, and a study of her militar- 
istic methods, which remind one of those of Germany. Japan holds to 
no ally that will not (temporarily) aid her in her forward march, and in 
the weakness of Russia, China, and Korea she sees her opportunity. 
The war to her was an unmixed blessing. She took no chances, and seized 
enormous advantages. 

There are three great figures of nations which seem to have been 
destined to be, in these times, of critical importance to the United States : 
in the past Germany; in the present, Great Britain; in the future, 
Japan. The German question was settled in the only possible way; 
for England the only sane solution is a closer-knit alliance; and for 
Japan, watchfulness and friendly intentions. 



INDEX 



Africa 

Asbestos in, 394 

Bauxite and aluminum in, 350 

Chrome in, 114 

Copper in, 246 

Copper, exports to United States, 

249; copper production, 246, 249 
East Africa 

Mica in, 383 
Emery and corundum in, 359 
Gold in, 473 
Magnesite in, 368 
North Africa 

Copper in, 248 
Phosphate in, 405 
South Africa 

Gold in, 473; gold, financial 
control, 488 

Mica in, 384 
Tin, in, 323 
West Africa 

Copper in, 248 

Gold in, 474 
Alaska. See United States. 
Algeria 

Antimony in, 185 
Iron ores of, 71 
Lead in, 273 
Phosphate in, 406 
Zinc in, 303 
Alloys 

of antimony, 172; of chrome, 109; 

of manganese, 90; of molybdenum, 

191; of nickel, 129; of platinum 

and iridium, 506; of tungsten, 142; 

of vanadium, 163; of zirconium, 

210 
Alsace. See France and Germany. 
Petroleum control in, 16 
Potash control in, 418 
Aluminum (bauxite). 

Changes in practice, 349 
Chapter on, 349 



Aluminum 

Control of aluminum, commercial, 
352; in France, 353; in Germany- 
Austria, 354; in Great Britain, 
353; in Italy, 354; in Norway, 
353; in the Guianas, 353; in the 
United States and Canada, 352 

Geographical distribution, 350 in 
Africa, 350; in Australia, 350; 
in China, 351; in South America, 
350; in the United States, 350; 
in Europe, 350; in India, 350 

Summary, 354 

Uses of, 349 

Works, capacity, 352 

World's output, 351 
Antimony 

Alloys of, 172 

Chapter on, 172 

Geographical distribution, 173, 174. 
175; in Africa, 185; in Algeria 
185; in Asia, 182; in Australia, 186 
in Austria and Hungary, 179 
in Bolivia, 178; in Borneo, 182, 
in Canada, 177; in China, 182, 183 
in Europe, 179; in France, 179 
in Germany, 180; in Great Britain 
180; in India, 184; in Indo-China 
184; in Italy, 181; in Japan, 184 
in Mexico, 177; in North America 
176; in Peru, 179; in Portugal, 182 
in Russia, 182; in Serbia, 182 
in South Africa, 185; in South 
America, 178; in Spain, 182; in 
Turkey, 184; in the United States, 
176 

Position of England, 187; position 
of France, 188; position of Ger- 
many, 188; position of Japan, 
188; position of United States, 187 

Production of world, 186 

Recent industrial conditions, 188 

Summary, 189 



35 



545 



546 



INDEX 



Antimony 

Uses of, 172 

World situation, 530 
Argentina 

Copper in, 245 

Petroleum control in, 16 
Asbestos 

in Africa, 394; in Asia, 394; in 
Canada and Newfoundland, 393; 
in Europe, 393; in Italy, 393; in 
Mexico, Central ?nd South Amer- 
ica, 393; in the United States, 391 

Anthophyllite, in United States, 
392 

Changes in practice, 389 

Chapter on, 388 

Chrysolite, in United States, 391 

Control in Canada, 398; in South 
Africa, 398; in United States, 397 

Control, political and commercial, 
397 

Future changes, 395 

Geographical distribution, 391 

Geological distribution, 389 

Position of Great Britain, 399; 
position of the United States, 399 

Substitutes for, 389 

Summary, 400 

Uses of, 388 

World situation, 537 
Asia 

Antimony in, 182 

Asbestos in, 394 

Chrome in, 115 

Coal in, 27 

Copper in, 253 

Emery and corundum in, 358 

Gold in, 471 

Graphite in, 374 

Iron in, 74-77 

Magnesite in, 368 

Manganese in, 99 

Mercury in, 341 

Monazite in, 217 

Petroleum in, 9 

Phosphate in, 406 

Tin in, 319, 323, 327, 329, 330 

Tungsten in, 149 

Zinc in, 303, 305, 306 
Asia Minor 

Chrome in, 115 

Magnesite in, 368 

Mercury in, 341 



Australasia 

Asbestos in, 395 

Chrome in, 111 

Copper in, 249 

Gold in, 474 

Lead in, 268, 269 

Manganese in, 101 

Nickel in, 134, 135 

Phosphate in, 406 

Tin in, 325, 326, 329 

Tungsten in, 149 

Zinc in, 302, 303 
Australia 

Antimony in, 186 

Bauxite and aluminum in, 350 

Coal position, 31 

Copper, production in 1917, 
250 

Gold in, 475 

Gold, political and commercial 
control, 490 

Iron in, 80 

Lead in, 268 

Lead, commercial control, 282 

Lead position, 288 

Magnesite in, 368 

Manganese in, 101 

Mica in, 384 

Molybdenum in, 191; molybdenum, 
commercial control, 197 

Platinum in, 514 

Radium in, 207 

Tin in, 325 

Tungsten, future of, 149 

Uranium in, 207 

Zinc in. 302; commercial control, 
311 
Austria 

Copper in, 258 

Lead position, 290 

Magnesite control, 369 

Mercury in, 340 

Radium resources, 206; uranium 
resources, 206 

Zinc in, 305 
Austrian Empire 

Chrome in, 118 

Mercury in, 340 
Austria and Hungary 

Antimony in, 179 

Iron, political and commercial con- 
trol, 70; iron position, 87 

Manganese in, 96 



INDEX 



547 



Balkan Peninsula 

Chrome in, 118 
Bauxite 

Chapter on, 349 

Geographical distribution, 350 

Geological distribution, 350 

Uses of, 349 

World control, 351 
Belgian Congo 

Copper in, 246, 247 

Manganese in, 101 
Belgium 

Coal in, 24, 26 

Iron position, 87 

Lead in, 276; lead position, 290 

Manganese in, 96 

Zinc position, 313 
Bolivia 

Antimony in, 178 

Copper in, 245 

Lead in, 276 

Silver in, 498, 501 

Tin in, 328; tin control, 333 

Tungsten in, 150 

Zinc in, 306 
Borneo 

Antimony in, 182 

Manganese in, 101 
Bowles, Oliver 

Chapter on Asbestos, 388 
Brazil 

Chrome in, 120 

Coal position, 31 

Gold in, 470, 480 

Iron, control, 78 

Manganese in, 94 

Mica in, 383 

Monazite in, 217; monazite, com- 
mercial control, 218, 219, 220 

Zirconium in, 212, 213; zirconium, 
political control, 213 
British Empire. See Great Britain. 
British Guiana 

Gold in, 480 

Petroleum control in, 17 
Bulgaria 

Iron in, 77 

Lead in, 276 
Burma 

Lead in, 274; lead position, 289; 
lead smelters, 283 

Petroleum in, 15 

Tungsten, future of, 149 



California 

Chrome in, 119 

Gold in, 466 

Magnesite in, 365 

Mercury in, 342 

Platinum in, 513 
Canada 

Aluminum control in, 352 

Antimony in, 177 

Asbestos in, 393; asbestos control 
in, 398 

Chrome in, 118 

Copper, commercial control, 238 

Emery and corundum in, 358 

Gold in, 468 

Iron, commercial control, 73 

Lead in, 273; lead position, 289; lead 
smelters, 283 

Magnesite in, 365 

Manganese in, 94 

Mica in, 382 

Molybdenum in, 193; molybdenum, 
commercial control, 197 

Nickel in, 133 

Petroleum control in, 16 

Phosphate in, 405 

Platinum in, 513; platinum owner- 
ship, 518 

Pyrite in, 452 

Zinc in, 306 
Cape Colony, Africa 

Asbestos in, 394 

Copper in, 248 

Gold in, 473 
Central America 

Chrome in, 120 

Copper in, 239 

Gold in, 469; gold control, 485 

Petroleum in, 17 
Chile 

Coal position, 31 

Copper control, 241; copper, commer- 
cial control, 242; copper, United 
States control, 243 

Iron, control, 78 

Manganese in, 96 

Nitrate ores, 423; nitrate, outlook 
for, 441 

Sulphur in, 458 
China 

Antimony in, 182 

Coal position, 31, 47 

Copper in, 255 



548 



INDEX 



China 

Gold in, 473; gold, financial control, 
488 

Iron position, 88 

Lead in, 273 

Mica in, 384 

Petroleum control in, 17 

Silver position, 504 

Tin in, 329; tin control, 332 

Tungsten, future of, 149 

Zinc in, 306 
China and Manchuria 

Iron, control of, 74 
Chrome (chromite) 

Alloys of, 109 

in Australasia, 111 

Chapter on, 109 

Chief producing countries, 528 

Commercial control of, 111-114; 
in France, 125, 126; in Great 
Britain, 124; in the United States, 
122, 123, 124 

Control, commercial and political, 
127 

Geographical distribution, 111, 112 

Geological distribution, 110; in 
Africa, 114; in Asia, 115; in 
Asia Minor, 115; in the Austrian 
Empire, 118; in the Balkan Pen- 
insula, 118; in Brazil, 120; in 
Canada, 118; in Central America, 
120; in Colombia, 120; in Cuba, 
120; in Europe, 118; in Greece, 
118; in India, 117; in Japan, 117, 
in Macedonia, 118; in New Cal- 
edonia, 111; in North. America, 
118; in Rhodesia, 114; in Russia, 
117; in Serbia, 118; in South 
America, 120; in Turkey, 115; 
in the United States, 119; in 
Venezuela, 120 

Position of France, 125; of Germany, 
126; of Great Britain, 124; of 
leading nations, 121; of Russia, 
127; of the United States, 122 

Production of, 113 

Uses of, 109 

World situation, 528 
Coal 

Asia and Australia, statistics for, 53 

Changes in practice, 23 

Chapter on, 22 

Commercial control, 33 



Coal 

Control in Germany, 35; in Great 
Britain, 36; in the United States, 
36, 37 

Control, political, 33 

Domination by Great Britain and 
the United States, 525 

Europe, statistics for, 1913, 49, 50 

Exports, and imports, 1913, 52, 53, 
54 

Geographical distribution, 25 

Geological distribution, 23; in Africa, 
26; in Europe, 24; in North 
America, 24; in South America, 24 

Imports, 1913, 52, 53, 54; in the 
United States, 524 

Position of Australia, 31; of Brazil, 
31; of Chile, 31; of China, 31, 47; 
of France, 46, 47; of Germany, 
30, 46; of Great Britain, 30, 44; 
of Italy, 47; of Japan, 47; of 
Russia, 47; of South America, 31; 
of United States, 43; of world, 32 

Production, 1913, 49, 50, 51; pro- 
duction of principal countries, 
26; production of world, 27, 28; 
future production, 32 

Reserves of world, 28 

Situation as effected by World War, 
39, 40, 41 

South America, statistics for, 1913, 
52; trade, probable changes in, 42 

Summary of control, 524 

United States, statistics for 1913, 49 

Uses of, 22 
Colombia 

Chrome in, 120 

Petroleum control in, 17 

Platinum in, 512; platinum owner- 
ship, 517 
Copper 

in Africa, Katanga district, 246, 249 

Chapter on, 223 

Control, business, 225; control, 
geographical and financial, 224; 
in Canada, commercial control, 
238; in Chile, commercial con- 
trol, 242; United States control, 
243; in Cuba and the Caribbean, 
commercial control, 239; in Eu- 
rope, control of, 257; control, 
summary, 531, 532 

in Europe, production, 257 



INDEX 



549 



Copper 

Geographical distribution, 227; in 
Africa, 246; in Argentina, 245; 
in Asia, 253; in Australasia, 249; 
in Cape Colony, 248; in Chile, 
241; in China, 255; in Europe, 
256; in Germany, 258; in India, 
256; in Japan, 253; in Korea, 
255; in New South Wales, 252; in 
North America, 228; in Northern 
Africa, 248; in Norway, 256; in 
Peru, 244; in Portugal, 256; in 
Queensland, Australia, 251; in 
Rhodesia, 248; in Russia, 258; in 
South America, 241; in South- 
west Africa, 248; in Spain, 256; 
in Sweden, 256; in Tasmania, 
252; in the Transvaal, 248; in the 
United States, 228; in Venezuela, 
245 

in Japan, production and exports, 
253 

in Mexico, commercial control, 239 

in Peru, commercial control, 244 

Reserve of world, 226 

in Russia, production, 259; reserves, 
259 

Summary of, 260 

in United States, control by Ger- 
man interests, 232-235; control 
through ownership of mines, 228; 
control through ownership of 
smelters and refineries, 230 

in United States, leading financial 
groups, 228, 229 

in United States, ore reserves, 236 

in United States, ownership and 
capacity of refineries, 231 

in United States, porphyry copper 
reserves, 236 

United States, shipments from 
Africa to, 249 

World situation, 531 
Corbett, C. S. 

Chapter on Nickel, 129 
Cornwall 

Tin in, 327 
Corundum and Emery 

Chapter on, 356 

Uses of, 356 

World situation, 535 
Costa Rica 

Manganese in, 94 



Costa Rica 

Petroleum control in, 17 
Cuba and the Caribbean 

Copper, commercial control, 239 
Cuba 

Chrome in, 120 

Iron control in, 71 

Manganese in, 94 

Nickeliferous iron in, 135 

Pyrite in, 452 
Cyprus 

Pyrite in, 451 
Czecho-Slovakia 

Iron ores, 70 

Lead in, 272 

Dub, George D. 

Chapter on Graphite, 372 
Dutch East Indies 

Petroleum control in, 14 

Tin in, 329 



Eddingfield, F. T. 

Chapter on Iron, 55 
Egypt 

Lead in, 275; lead position of, 289 

Manganese in, 101 

Petroleum control in, 16 

Phosphate rock in, 406 

Zinc in, 306 
Emery and Corundum 

Chapter on, 356 

Control, commercial, 360; control, 
political, 360 

Future developments, 359 

Geographical distribution, 357 

Geological distribution, 357; in 
Africa, 359; in Asia, 358; in Can- 
ada, 358; in Europe, 358; in 
the United States, 357 

Position of England, 361; of France, 
361; of Germany, 361; of Japan, 
361; of the United States, 361 

Production of, 362 

Summary, 361 

Uses of, 356 

World situation, 535 
England 

See Great Britain 
Europe 

Antimony in, 179 

Asbestos in, 393 



550 



INDEX 



Europe 

Bauxite and aluminum in, 350 

Chrome in, 118 

Coal in 24-26 

Copper m, 256 

Copper production and control in, 

257 
Emery and corundum in, 358 
Gold in, 470 
Iron in, 57-60 
Lead in, 269, 271 
Magnesite in, 366 
Manganese in, 96 
Mercury in, 339 
Petroleum in, 8, 9 
Phosphate in, 405 

Pyrite, exports and imports in, 258 
Silver in, 498 
Tungsten, future of, 151 
Zinc in, 303, 305 

Ferguson, H. G. 

Chapter on Antimony, 172 

Chapter on Graphite, 372 
Ferro-Alloy Minerals, 526 
Ferromanganese, 90 
Fertilizer Minerals, 537 
Florida 

Phosphate rock in, 403 
France 

Aluminum co ntrol in, 353 

Antimony in, 179; antimony posi- 
tion, 188 

Chrome position, 125 

Coal position, 46; coal control, 36 

Copper control in Chile, 243; copper 
control in Mexico, 240 

Emery and corundum position, 361; 

Gold position, 492 

Graphite position, 377 

Iron-ore production, 1911-1913, 65; 
iron, political and commercial 
control, 64; iron position, 86 

Lead in, 274; lead position, 290; 
lead smelters, 283 

Manganese in, 96; manganese posi- 
tion in, 107 

Mica, position of, 386 

Molybdenum position, 198 

Nickel position, 141 

Petroleum position, 19 

Phosphate rock in, 405 

Pyrite in, 450 



France 

Tin position of, 335 
Tungsten, control of, 156 
Zinc, commercial control, 313 

Fuel Minerals, 522 

Gale, Hoyt S. 

Chapter on Potash, 411 
Galicia 

Petroleum control in, 15 
German Austria, lead in, 272 
Germany 

Antimony in, 180; antimony posi- 
tion of, 188 

Chrome position, 126 

Coal control, 35; coal position, 30, 
46 

Copper in, 258; copper control in 
Australasia, 250; in Chile, 243; in 
Mexico, 240 

Emery and corundum position, 361; 

Gold position, 492 

Graphite position, 377 

Iron position, 84; iron, political and 
commercial control, 63 

Lead in, 270, 271; lead position, 289 

Magnesite in, 367 

Manganese in, 96; manganese posi- 
tion, 107 

Mercury in, 340 

Mica position, 387 

Molybdenum position, 198 

Nickel position, 141 

Petroleum control in, 518 

Potash in, 412; potash control in, 
417 

Radium in, 207 

Tin position of, 335 

Tungsten control, 159 

Uranium in, 207 

Zinc in, 301 ; zinc, commercial control, 
311; zinc, position of, 313 
Germany, Austria and Hungary 

Pyrite in, 450 
Gilbert, Chester G. 

Chapter on Nitrogen, 421 
Gold 

Australia, control of, 490 

Chapter on, 462 

Control, commercial, 477; control in 
Central and South America, 485; 
in China, 488; in India, 487; in 
Japan, 487; in Siberia, 486; in 



INDEX 



551 



Siberia and Russia, 485; in South 
Africa, 488; in United States 
and Canada, 479; control, political 
and commercial, 478; control 
political, 476; control, financial 
in world, 480-483; future changes 
in distribution, 476 

Geographical occurrence, 464; in 
Asia, 471; in Australasia, 474; in 
Australia, 475 ; in Central America, 
469; in China, 473; in Europe, 470; 
in India, 471; in Japan, 472; in 
Korea, 472; in Mexico, 469; in New- 
Zealand, 475; in North America, 
464; in Rhodesia, 474; in Siberia, 
471; in South Africa, 473; in South 
America, 469; in United States, 
464; in West Africa, 474 

Geological occurrences, 463 

in Mexico, financial control, 484; in 
Transvaal, financial control, 488, 
489 

Position of France, 492; of Germany, 
492; of Great Britain, 491; of 
Japan, 492; of Russia, 492; of 
United States, 491 

Production in world, 480-483; pro- 
duction of world 1880-1917, 465, 
466 

Rhodesia, financial control, 489 

Summary, 493 

Uses of, 462 

World situation, 540 
Graphite 

Chapter on, 372 

Control, political and commercial, 
375; future developments, 374 

Geographical distribution, 373 

Geological occurrence, 373; in Mada- 
gascar, control, 375 

Position of England, 377; of France, 
377; of Germany, 377; of Japan, 
377; of the United States, 370 

Production of, 378; production, 
world capacity, 373 

Summary, 377 

Uses of, 372 

World situation, 536 
Great Britain 

Aluminum control in, 353 

Antimony in, 180; antimony position, 
187 

Asbestos position, 399 



Great Britain 

Chrome position, 124 

Coal control, 36; coal position, 30, 
44, 525 

Control of minerals, 542 
Copper control in Mexico, 240 

Emery and corundum, position, 361 

Gold position, 491 

Graphite position, 377 

Iron, political and commercial con- 
trol, 66; iron-ore production, 66; 
iron position, 85 
Lead in, 272; lead position, 288, 289; 
lead smelters, 283 

Manganese in, 97; manganese posi- 
tion, 106 

Mica position, 386 

Molybdenum position, 198 

Nickel position, 141 

Petroleum interests in Mexico, 14; 
petroleum policy, 523; petroleum 
position, 18 

Radium resources, 207 

Silver market control, 503 

Sulphur in, 458 

Tin in, 319; tin control, 332; tin 
position, 335 

Tungsten, control of, 154 

Uranium resources, 207 

Zinc in, 305; zinc position, 314 
Greece 

Chrome in, 118 

Emery in, 358 

Iron in, 73 

Lead in, 273; lead smelters, 283 

Magnesite in, 367 

Manganese in, 97 
Grout, Frank F. 

Cha.pter on Coal, 22 

Chapter on Graphite, 372 
Guianas, The 

Aluminum control in, 353 

Gold in, 470 

Hall, Durand A. 

Chapter on Antimony, 172 

Chapter on Mica, 380 
Hanover 

Petroleum control in, 16 
Harder, E. C. 

Chapter on Chromium, 109 

Chapter on Iron, 55 



552 



INDEX 



Hess, Frank L. 

Chapter on Tungsten, 142 
Hewett, D. F. 

Chapter on Manganese, 90 
Hill, James M. 

Chapter on Bauxite and Aluminum, 
349 

Chapter on Platinum, 506 

Chapter on Tin, 317 
Holland 

Tin control, 332; tin position, 335 
Hungary- 
Iron position, 87 

Lead in, 276; lead position, 
290 

Mercury in, 339 
Hyder, Frederick B. 

Chapter on Lead, 261 

Chapter on Zinc, 294 

Idaho 

Lead in, 266 
Phosphate in, 404 
India 

Bauxite and aluminum in, 350 

Chrome in, 117 

Copper m, 256 

Gold in, 471; gold, financial control, 

487 
Iron, control of, 75 
Manganese in, 99 
Mica in, 383 

Monazite in, 217; monazite, com- 
mercial control, 220 
Petroleum control in, 15 
Tin in, 327 
Zinc in, 306 

Zirconium in, 213; zirconium, polit- 
ical control, 214 
Indo-China 

Coal in, 24 
Zinc in, 305 
Iridium 

Uses of, 506 
Iron 

Chapter on, 55 

Control, commercial, 61; control in 
Austria and Hungary, 70; control 
in India, 75; control in Japan and 
Korea, 76; control in Cuba, 71; 
control in France, 64, 65; control 
in Newfoundland, 71; control in 
Russia, 68, 69; control in United 



States, 61, 62, 63; control, polit- 
ical, 61 
Four chief producing countries, 526 
Geographical distribution, 57 
Geological distribution, 55; iron in 
Australia, 80; in Brazil, 78; in 
Bulgaria, 77; in Canada, 73; in 
Chile, 78; in Cuba, 71; in Czecho- 
slovakia, 70; in Greece, 73 ; in Italy, 
72; in Jugoslavia, 71; in Mexico, 
79; in Newfoundland, 71 ; in New 
Zealand, 80; in Norway, 72; in 
Poland, 77; in Portugal, 77; in 
South Africa, 80; in Tunisia, 
71; in Turkey, 77 
Iron-ore and pig-iron production and 

movement, 1913, 60 
Ore reserves in United States, 61 
Pig-iron manufacture, statistics, 59 
Position of Austria, 87; of Belgium, 
87; of China, 88; of France, 86; of 
Germany, 84; of Great Britain, 
85; of Hungary, 87; of Japan, 88; 
of Russia, 86; of the United States, 
82 
Production of the world, 1910-1917, 
58 

Italy 

Antimony in, 181 

Asbestos in, 393 

Coal position, 47 

Iron ores of, 72; iron, commercial 

control, 73 
Lead in, 272; lead position, 290; 

lead smelters, 283 
Manganese in, 97 
Mercury in, 339 
Petroleum control in, 17 
Pyrite in, 450 
Sulphur in, 453 
Zinc in, 303 

Japan 

Antimony position, 188 
Coal position, 47 
Chrome in, 117 

Copper in, 253, 254; copper produc- 
tion, 254 
Emery and corundum position, 361 
Gold in, 472; gold, financial control, 

487; gold position, 492 
Graphite position, 377 



INDEX 



553 



Japan 

Iron control, 76; iron position, 88 

Lead in, 275; lead position, 291 

Manganese in, 100, 101 

Molybdenum position, 198 

Petroleum control in, 16; petroleum 
position of, 20 

Pyrite in, 452 

Silver position, 499 

Sulphur in, 457 

Tin in, 330 

Tungsten control, 156 

Zinc in, 303; zinc position, 314 
Java 

Manganese in, 103 
Jugoslavia 

Iron ores, 71 

Katanga district, Africa 
Copper in, 246, 249 
Katz, Frank J. 

Chapter on Emery and Corundum, 
356 
Korea 

Copper in, 255 

Gold in, 472; gold, financial control, 
487 



Lead 



Changes in practice, 262 

Chapter on, 261 

Control in Australia, 282; in Mexico, 

282, 283; in Spain, 282 
Control, commercial, 277 
Control, commercial, of pig-lead 

output, 287; in United States, 279 
Control, political, 277 
Control through trade combinations, 

283, 284, 285, 286 
Consumption, 1913, 278 
Geographical distribution, 264; in 

Algeria, 273; in Australia, 268 
in Belgium, 276; in Bolivia, 276 
in Bulgaria, 276; in Burma, 274 
in Canada, 273; in China, 273 
in Colorado, 267; in Czecho-Slova- 
kia, 272; in Egypt, 275; in France, 
274; in German Austria, 272; in 
Germany, 270, 271; in Great 
Britain, 272; in Greece, 273; in 
Hungary, 276; in Idaho, 266; in 
Italy, 272; in Japan, 275; in 
Mexico, 271; in Missouri, 265; in 



New South Wales, 268; in Poland, 
270; in Peru, 274; in Portugal, 
276; in Queensland, 269; in Rho- 
desia, 276; in Russia, 275; in 
Siberia, 275, 283; in Southwest 
Africa, 273; in Spain, 269; in 
Sweden, 276; in Tasmania, 269; 
in Tunis, 272; in Turkey, 273; 
in the United States, 265; in 
Upper Silesia, 270; in Utah, 267; 
in Western Australia, 269 

Geological occurrence, 263 

Position of Australia, 288; of Aus- 
tria, 290; of Belgium, 290; of the 
British Empire, 288; of the British 
Isles, 289; of Burma, 289; of Can- 
ada, 289; of Egypt, 289; of France, 
290; of Germany, 289; of Hungary, 
290; of Japan, 291; of Spain, 291; 
of the United States, 287 

Lead-silver smelters, Mexico, 282; 
lead-silver smelters, United States, 
281 

Production, 1913, 264, 278; pro- 
duction, future changes, 276 

Smelted in 1913, 278 

Smelters in Burma, 283; in Canada, 
283; in France, 283; in Great 
Britain, 283; in Greece, 283; 
in Italy, 283; in Turkey, 283 

Summary, 291 

United States, financial groups, 281 

World situation, 532 

Macedonia 

Chrome in, 118 
Madagascar 

Graphite control, 375 
Magnesite 

Chapter on, 363 

Control, political and commercial, 
368; control in Austria, 369; con- 
trol in the United States, 368 

Geographical distribution, 364; in 
Africa, 368; in Asia, 368; in 
Australia, 368; in California, 365 
in Canada, 365; in Europe, 366 
in Germany, 367; in Greece, 367 
in Mexico, 366; in North America, 
365; in South America, 366; in 
the United States, 365; in Wash- 
ington, 366 

Geological occurrence, 363 



554 



INDEX 



Magnesite 

Summary, 370 

Uses of, 363 

World situation, 536 
Malay Peninsula 

Tin in, 319; tin production, 1917, 321 
Manganese 

Changes in practice, 91 

Chapter on, 90 

Control, commercial, 103; control, 
political and commercial, 103 

Geographical distribution 93, 104; 
in Africa, 101; in Asia, 99; in 
Australasia, 101; in Australia, 
101; in Austria and Hungary, 96; 
in the Belgian Congo, 101; in 
Belgium, 96; in Borneo, 101; 
in Brazil, 94; in Canada, 94 
Manganese 

in Chile, 96; in Cost Rica, 94; 
in Cuba, 94; in Egypt, 101; in 
Europe, 96; in France, 96; in Ger- 
many, 96; in Gold Coast of West 
Africa, 101; in Great Britain, 
97; in Greece, 97; in India, 99; in 
Italy, 97; in Japan, 100; in Java, 
103; in Mexico, 94; in New Zea- 
land, 101; in North America, 93; 
in Panama, 94; in the Philippine 
Islands, 101; in Portugal, 97; 
in Russia, 97, 98; in South 
Africa, 101; in South America, 
94; in Spain, 99; in Sweden, 99; 
in Tunis, 101; in Uruguay, 96 

Geological distribution, 91, 92 

Position of England, 106; of France, 
107; of Germany, 107; of the 
United States,. 106 

Principal sources of, 527 

Production of, 102 

Summary, 108 

Uses of, 90 ' 

World situation, 527 
Mercury y 

Changes in distribution, 343 

Changes in practice, 344 

Chapter on, 337 

Control, commercial, 346; control, 
political, 345 

Geographical distribution, 339; in 
Alaska, 341; in Asia, 341; in 
Asia Minor, 341; in Austrian 
Empire, 340; in California, 342; 



in Europe, 339; in Germany, 340; 

in Hungary, 340; in Italy, 340; 

in Mexico, 343; in Nevada, 

343; in North America, 341; in 

Portugal, 340; in Russia, 341; in 

Serbia, 341; in South America, 

343; in Texas, 343 
Geological distribution, 338 
Summary, 347 
Uses of, 337 
World situation, 535 
Mesothorium 
Uses of, 216 
World situation, 531 
Mexico 

Antimony in, 177 

Coal in, 28 

Copper in, commercial control, 239 

Gold in, 469; gold, financial control, 

484 
Iron, control, 79 
Lead in, 271; lead, commercial 

control, 282, 283 
Magnesite in, 366 
Manganese in, 94 
Mercury in, 343 
Molybdenum in, 195; molybdenum, 

commercial control, 197 
Petroleum, commercial control, 14 
Pyrite in, 452 
Sulphur in, 458 
Tungsten, future of, 151 
Zinc in, 305 
Mica 

Changes in practice, 381 

Chapter on, 380 

Control, political and commercial, 

385 
Future developments, 384 
Geographical distribution, 383; in 

Australia, 384; in Brazil, 382; 

in Canada, 382; in China, 384; in 

East Africa, 382; in India, 382; 

in South Africa, 384; in the United 

States, 382 
Geological distribution, 382 
Position of Germany, 387; position 

of Great Britain, 386; of France, 

386; of the United States, 386 
Substitutes for, 381 
'Summary, 387 
Uses of, 380 
World situation, 536 



INDEX 



555 



Minerals 

World control of, 541 
Missouri 

Lead in, 265 
Zinc in, 298, 300 
Molybdenum 

Chapter on, 191 

Control, commercial, 197; in Aus- 
tralia, 197; in Canada, 197; in 

Mexico, 197; in Norway, 197; 

in United States, 197 
Control, political, 196 
Geographical distribution, 191, 199; 

in Australia, 191; in Canada, 193; 

in Mexico, 195; in North America, 

193; in Norway, 191; in the United 

States, 193 
Geological distribution, 191 
Position of France, 198; of Germany, 

198; of Great Britain, 198; of the 

United States, 198 
Reserves, 196 
Summary, 200 
Treatment of ores, 196 
Uses of, 191 
World situation, 530 
Monazite 

Chapter on, 216 

Control, commercial, 218, 219, 220, 

221 
Control, political, 218 
Geographical distribution, 216; in 

Brazil, 217; in India, 217; in the 

United States, 216 
Geological distributon, 216 
Position of the United States, 221 
Treatment practice, 218 
Uses of, 216 
Moore, R. B. 

Chapter on Molybdenum, 191; 

Chapter on Monazite, Thorium, 

and Mesothorium, 216; Chapter 

on Vanadium, 163 
Morocco 

Iron ores, 71 
Phosphate in, 406 
Morris, H. C. 

Chapter on Zirconium, 209 

Nevada 

Mercury in, 343 
New Caledonia 

Chrome in, 111 



New Caledonia 

Nickel in, 134; nickel, commercial 
control, 139 
Newfoundland 

Iron ores, 71 
New South Wales 

Copper in, 252 

Lead in, 268 

Platinum in, 514 

Tin in, 326 

Zinc in, 302 
New Zealand 

Gold in, 475 

Iron in, 80 

Manganese in, 101 

Petroleum control, 17 
Nickel 

Alloys, 129 

Changes in practice, 130 

Chapter on, 129 

Commercial control, 138 

Control, commercial, in New Cale- 
donia, 139; in Sudbury district, 
Canada, 138, 139 

Control, political, 138 

Future of, 136 

Garnierite and lateritic type de- 
posits, 134 

Geographical distribution, 132; 
nickel in Canada, 133 

Geological distribution, 131; in Nor- 
way, 134; in United States, 134 

Position of France, 141; of Germany, 
141; of Great Britain, 141; of 
the United States, 141 

Production, 136 

Sudbury district, Canada, 133 

Sulphide type deposits, 133 

Veins, 135 

World situation, 528 
Nickeliferous iron, Cuba, 135 
Nigeria 

Tin in, 323 
Nitrates 

By-product, outlook for, 443 

Fixation, outook for, 442 

Ore deposits in Chile, 422 

Summary 444, 445 

World situation, 539 
Nitrogen 

Ammonia fixation, 437 

Arc fixation, 437 

Atmospheric, 421 



556 



INDEX 



Nitrogen 

Bacterial fixation, 439 

By-product compounds, 434 

Chapter on, 421 

Consumption for fertilizers, 435 

Control, commercial aspects, 433; 
general aspects, 425 

Cyanamid fixation, 438 

Cyanide fixation, 438 

Fixation compounds, 437 

Geological distribution, 421; in car- 
boniferous deposits, 425 

Natural compounds, 434 

Nitride fixation, 438 

Organic, 424 

Outlook for, 440 

Production statistics, 426; produc- 
tion, world developments, 428 

Recent developments and changes, 
439 

Sources, 427 

United States, developments in, 
430 

Uses of, 421 

Utilization cycles, 427 

World situation, 431 
Non-ferrous Metals, 531 
Non-metallic Minerals, 535 
North America 

Antimony in, 176 

Chrome in, 118 

Coal in, 24, 25 

Copper in, 228 

Gold in, 464 

Iron in, 57, 61, 62, 63 

Magnesite in, 365 

Manganese in 93 

Mercury in, 341 

Molybdenum in, 193 

Petroleum in, 5-8 

Silver in, 501 

Tungsten, future of, 150 
Northrup, John D. 

Chapter on Petroleum, 1 
Norway 

Aluminum control in, 353 

Copper in, 256 

Iron ores, 72 

Molybdenum in, 191; molybdenum, 
commercial control, 197 

Nickel in, 134 

Pyrite in, 449 



Orchard, John E. 

Chapter on Gold, 462 
Oregon 

Platinum in, 513 
Osmiridium 

in Canada, 513; in Colombia, 512; 
in the United States, 513 
Osmium 

Uses of, 506 

Paine, F. W. 

Chapter on Copper, 223 

Chapter on Silver, 495 
Palladium 

in Canada, 513 

in platinum ores 510 

Uses of, 506 
Panama 

Manganese in, 94 

Petroleum control in, 17 
Penrose, R. A. F. Jr. 

Chapter on Radium and Uranium, 
201 
Peru 

Antimony in, 179 

Copper in, 244 

Lead in, 274 

Tungsten, future of, 150 

Vanadium in, 165 

Zinc in, 307 
Petroleum 

Changes in operating and refining 
practices, 4 

Chapter on, 1 

Control, commercial of, 11, 12; in 
Alsace, 16; in Argentina, 16; in 
British Guiana, 17; in Canada, 
16; in China, 17; in Colombia, 17; 
in Costa Rica, 17; in Dutch East 
Indies, 14; in Egypt, 16; in Galicia, 
15; in Hanover, 16; in India, 15; 
in Italy, 17; in Japan, 16; in 
Mexico, 14; in New Zealand, 17; 
in Panama, 17; in Persia, 17; in 
Trinidad, 16; in Venezuela, 17; 
in the United States, 12, 13 

Control, political, 9 

Future developments, 6 

Geographical distribution, 6 

Geological distribution, 5 

Policy of Great Britain, 523 



INDEX 



557 



Petroleum 

Position of France, 19; of Germany, 
19; of Great Britain, 18; of Japan, 
20; of the United States, 17 

Production of, 10 

Substitutes for, 3 

Summary, 20 

Summary of control, 522 

Uses of, 3 
Persia 

Petroleum control in, 17 
Philippine Islands 

Manganese in, 101 
Phosphate Rock 

Changes and developments, 408 

Chapter on, 402 

Control, commercial, 408 

Geographical occurrence, 403; phos- 
phate in Africa, 405; in Algeria, 
406; in Asia and Australasia, 406; 
in Canada, 405; in Egypt, 406; 
in Europe, 405; in Florida, 403; 
in France, 405; in Idaho, 404; 
in Morocco, 406; in Siberia, 406; 
in South America, 405; in South 
Carolina, 403; in Tennessee, 404; 
in Tunis, 405; in the United 
States, 403; in Utah, 404; in 
Wyoming, 404 

Geological occurrence, 402 

Position of leading nations, 409; 
of the United States, 409 

Summary, 409 

United States reserves, 404 

Uses of, 402 

World situation, 538 
Platinum 

Chapter on, 506 

Control, commercial, 517; control of 
Canadian platinum, 518; of Co- 
lombian platinum, 517; control by 
Germany, 518; by the United 
States, 519 

Control, political, 516 

Control through ownership of mines, 
517 

Control through ownership of reduc- 
tion plants, 518 

Crude analyses of, 509; purity of, 
509 

Future changes in distribution, 515 

Geographical distribution, 507, 510; 
platinum in Alaska, 514; in Aus- 



tralia, 514; in California, 513; 
in Canada, 513; in Colombia, 512; 
in New South Wales, 514; in 
Oregon, 513; in Russia, 510; in 
Spain, 515; in Tasmania, 514; in 
the United States, 513; in Wash- 
ington, 514; in Wyoming, 514 

Geological distribution, 508 

Production of world, 1909-1917, 508 

Russian control, 516; Russian owner- 
ship, 517 

Sources of crude, 1909-1917, 511 

Summary, 521 

Uses of, 506, 507 

World situation, 519, 540 
Poland 

Coal in, 49, 50 

Iron in, 77 

Lead in, 275 

Zinc in, 304 
Portugal 

Antimony in, 182 

Copper in, 256 

Iron in, 77 

Lead in, 276 

Manganese in, 97 

Mercury in, 340 

Pyrite in, 448 

Tin in, 330 

Tungsten, future, 151 
Potash 

Alsatian control, 418 

Changes in commercial practice, 415 

Chapter on, 411 

Control, commercial and political, 
417 

Geographical distribution, 412; in 
Germany, 412; in the United 
States, 414 

Geological distribution, 415 

German control, 417 

Nature of, 411 

Production of world, 1917, 416 

Spanish control, 419 

Summary, 419 

Uses of, 411 

World situation, 538 
Precious Metals, 540 
Pyrite and Sulphur 

Chapter on, 447 

Control, commercial, 460; control, 
political, 459 

in Europe, exports, and imports, 258 



558 



INDEX 



Pyiite and Sulphur 

Geographical distribution, 448; in 
Canada, 452; in Cuba, 452; in 
Cyprus, 451; in France, 450; in 
Germany, Austria, and Hungary, 
450; in Italy, 450; in Japan, 452; 
in Mexico, 452; in Norway and 
Sweden, 449; in Russia, 450; in 
Spain and Portugal, 448; in the 
United States, 451 

Substitutes for, 448 

Uses of, 447 

Queensland (Australia) 

Copper in, 251 

Gold in, 475 

Lead in, 269 

Tin in, 326 

Tungsten in, 148 
Quicksilver 

Chapter on, 337 

See Mercury 

Radium 

Chapter on, 201 

Future prospects, 208 

Geographical and geological dis- 
tribution, 203; in Australia, 207; 
in England, 207; in Germany, 207 

Ores of, 202 

Production, United States, 205 

United States resources, 204 

Uses of, 201 
Ransome, E. L. 

Chapter on Mercury, 337 
Rhodesia (Africa) 

Chrome in, 114 

Copper in, 248 

Gold in, 474; gold, financial control, 
489 

Lead in, 276 
Rhodium 

Uses of, 506 
Rice, George S. 

Chapter on Coal, 22 
Roumania 

Petroleum control in, 15 
Russia 

Antimony in, 182 

Chrome in, 117 

Chrome position, 127 

Coal position, 47 

Copper in, 258 



Russia 

Copper production and reserves, 259 

Gold control, 485; gold position, 492 

Iron ore reserves, 68; iron, political 
and commercial control, 68 

Iron position, 86 

Lead in, 275 

Manganese in, 97, 98 

Mercury in, 341 

Petroleum control in, 13 

Platinum in, 510; platinum control 
in, 516; platinum ownership, 517 

Pyrite in, 450 

Tin position, 335 

Zinc position, 315 
Ruthenium 

Uses of, 506 

Serbia 

Antimony in, 182 

Chrome in, 118 

Mercury in, 341 
Shale-Oil 

Future of, 4 
Siam 

Tin control, 333 

Tin in, 329 

Tungsten in, 148 
Siberia 

Gold in, 471 

Gold control, 485, 486 

Lead in, 275, 283 

Mercury in, 341 

Phosphate in, 406 
Silesia 

Lead in, 270 
Silver 

By-product, proportion of output, 
498 

Changes in practice, 500 

Chapter on, 495 

Chinese and Japanese position, 504 

Coinage, 496 

Control, by England, 503 

Control, commercial, 500 

Control, financial, 501 

Control, political, 500 

Control, territorial, 501 

Control through relations to con- 
sumers, 503; control through 
trade combinations, 502 

Control through ownership of mines, 
500 






INDEX 559 

Silver Spain 

Control through ownership of re- Zinc in, 304 

duction plants, 501 Spiegeleisen, 90 

Future changes in, 499 Spurr, J. E. 

Geographical distribution, 498, 499 Chapter by, 522 

Geological age of deposits, 497, Chapter on petroleum, introduction 

499 I to, 1 

Production, in world, 498 Steel and the Ferro- Alloy Minerals, 526 

Rich mines, proportion of output, Stockett, A. W. 

498 Chapter on Potash, 411 

Summary, 504 Stone, R. W. 

Uses of, 495 Chapter on Magnesite, 363 

World situation, 540 Chapter on Phosphate Rock, 402 

South Africa Sulphur 

Antimony in, 185 Changes in practice, 459 

Asbestos, control in, 397 Geographical distribution, 453; in 

Coal in, 24, 25, 26 Chile, 458; in Italy and Sicily, 

Gold, financial control, 488 453; in Japan, 457; in Mexico, 458; 

Gold in, 473 in the United States, 455 

Iron in, £0 Position of the principal powers, 

Manganese in, 101 461; position of the United States, 

Tin in, 324 461 

Zinc in, 306 Sulphur and Pyrite 

South America Chapter on, 447 

Antimony in, 178 Control, commercial, 460 

Asbestos in, 393 Control, political, 459 

Bauxite and aluminum in, 350 Substitutes for, 448 

Chrome in, 120 Uses of, 447 

Coal position, 31 Sweden 

Copper control, 241 Copper in, 256 

Gold in, 469; gold control, 485 Iron, political and commercial con- 

Magnesite in, 366 trol, 69 

Manganese in, 94 Lead in, 276 

Mercury in, 343 Manganese in, 99 

Phosphate in, 405 Pyrite in, 449 

Tungsten, future of, 150 Zinc in, 305 
South Carolina 

Phosphate in, 403 Tasmania 

Southwest Africa Copper in, 252 

Lead in, 273 Lead in, 269 

Spain ! Nickel in, 134 

Antimony in, 182 Platinum, in, 514 

Copper in, 256 Tin in, 325 

Iron, political and commercial con- Zinc in, 303 

trol, 67 Tennessee 

Lead in, 269; commercial control, Phosphate in, 404 

282; lead position, 291 Texas 

Manganese in, 99 Mercury in, 343 

Platinum in, 515 Petroleum in, see United States 

Potash in, 419 Sulphur in, 455 

Pyrite in, 448 Thorium 

Tin in, 330 Chapter on, 216 

Tungsten, 148 Uses of, 216 



560 



INDEX 



Thorium 

World situation, 531 
Tin 

Chapter on, 317 

Control, commercial, of mines, 333; 

of smelting, 334 
Control, political, 332, 333 
Geographical distribution, 319, 320; 
in Africa, 323 ; in Australia, 325 ; in 
Austria, 331; in the Belgian Congo 
(Katanga), 331; in Bolivia, 328; 
in the British Empire, 319; in 
British Nigeria, 323; in China, 
329; in Cornwall, 327; in the 
Dutch East Indies, 329; in Ger- 
many, 331; in India, 327; in 
Italy, 331; in Japan, 330; in the 
Malay Peninsula, 319; in New 
South Wales, 326; in Portugal, 
330; in Queensland, 326; in Russia, 
331; in Siam, 329; in South 
Africa, 324; in Southwest Africa, 
331; in Spain, 330; in Tasmania, 
325; in the United States, 330 
Geological distribution, 318 
Position of France, 335; of Germany, 
335; of Great Britain, 335; of 
Holland, 335; of Russia, 335; of 
the United States, 335 
Production of world, 1913-1918, 321 ; 
producing localities of the world, 
320; production, future changes, 
332; production in the Malay 
Peninsula, 322. 
Uses of, 317 
World situation, 534 
Transvaal, Africa 
Copper in, 248 
Gold, financial control, 489 
Trinidad 

Petroleum control, 16 
Tungsten 

Alloys of, 142 
Changes in practice, 143 
Chapter on, 142 

Control, commercial, 152; British 
control, 154; French control, 156; 
German control, 159; Japanese 
control, 156; United States control, 
156, 159 
Control, political, 152 
Future of Asia, 149; of Australia, 
149; of Bolivia, 150; of Burma, 



149; of China, 149; of Europe, 
151; of Mexico, 151; of North 
America, 150; of Peru, 150; of 
Portugal, 151; of South America, 
150; of the United States, 150 

Geographical distribution, 146 

Geological distribution, 145 

Production, 147, 148, 152 

Substitutes for, 142 

United States imports, 157 

Uses of, 142 

World situation, 529 
Tunis 

Iron ores in, 71 

Lead ores in, 272 

Manganese in, 101 

Phosphate in, 405 
Turkey 

Chrome in, 115 

Iron in, 77 

Lead in, 273 

United States 

Aluminum, control of, 352 

Antimony in, 176; antimony posi- 
tion, 187 

Asbestos in, 391; asbestos control, 
397; asbestos position, 399 

Bauxite and aluminum in, 350 

Chrome in, 119; chrome position, 
122 

Coal control, 36, 37, 524; coal posi- 
tion, 43 

Control of minerals, 542 

Copper, control of, 228 

Copper control in Chile, 241-243; 
in Mexico, 239 

Copper in, 228 

Copper shipments from Africa, 249 

Emery and corundum in, 357, 358; 
emery and corundum position, 
361 

Gold in, 464; gold control, 477, 478: 
gold position, 491 

Graphite position, 376 

Iron, political and commercial con- 
trol, 61 

Iron-ore reserves, 61; iron position, 
82 

Lead in, 265; lead, commercial con- 
trol, 279; lead, financial groups, 
281; lead position, 287; lead-silver 
smelters, 281 



INDEX 



561 



United States 

Magnesite in, 365; magnesite con- 
trol, 368 

Manganese position, 106 

Mica in, 383; mica position, 386 

Molybdenum in, 193; molybdenum, 
commercial control, 197; molyb- 
denum, position of, 198 

Monazite in, 216; monazite, commer- 
cial control, 218-221; monazite 
position, 221 

Nickel in, 134; nickel position, 141 

Nitrogen developments in, 430, 432 

Petroleum position, 17 

Phosphate in, 403; phosphate posi- 
tion, 409 

Platinum in, 513; control of plati- 
num, 519 

Potash in, 414 

Pyrite in, 451 

Radium resources, 204 

Silver in 498, 501 

Sulphur in, 455 

Tin in, 330; tin position, 335 

Tungsten control, 156, 160; future 
of tungsten, 150; imports of 
tungsten, 157; tungsten, proposed 
tariff, 161 

Uranium resources, 204 

Vanadium in, 166 

Zinc in, 297; zinc, commercial con- 
trol, 309; zinc position, 313 

Zirconium in, 213 
Uranium 

Chapter on, 201 

Future prospects, 208 

Geographical and geological dis- 
tribution, 203; in Australia, 207; 
in England, 207; in Germany, 207 

Ores of, 202 

Production, Austria, 206; produc- 
tion, Europe, 206; production, 
United States, 205 

United States resources, 204 

Uses of, 202 

World situation, 531 
Uruguay 

Manganese in, 96 

Vanadium 

Alloys of, 163 
Changes in practice, 164 
Chapter on, 163 
36 



Vanadium 

Control, commercial, 165, 170 

Control, political, 170 

Future developments, 170 

Geographical distribution, 165, 169; 
in Arizona, 166; in California, 
166; in Colorado, 166; in Peru, 
165; in the United States, 166 

Geological distribution, 165 

Position of leading nations, 170 

Uses of, 163 

World situation, 529 
Venezuela 

Chrome in, 120 

Copper in, 245 

Gold in, 470 

Petroleum control in, 17 

Washington 

Magnesite in, 366 

Platinum in, 514 
White, A. G. 

Chapter on Pyrite and Sulphur, 447 
Who Owns the Earth? 

Chapter by J. E. Spurr, 522; Who 
owns the earth? 541 
World Control of Minerals, 541 
Wyoming 

Phosphate in, 404 

Platinum in, 514 



Zinc 



Australia, commercial control, 311 

Changes in practice, 295 

Chapter on, 294 

Control, commercial, 308; in Aus- 
tralia, 311; in France, 313; in 
Germany, 311; in the United 
States, 309 

Control, political, 308 

Deposits of world, 298 

Geographical distribution, 297; zinc 
in Algeria, 303; in Australia, 302; 
in Austria, 305; in Bolivia, 306; 
in Canada, 306; in China, 306; 
in Egypt, 306; in France, 304; in 
Germany, 301; in Great Britain, 
305; in Greece, 304; in India, 306; 
in Indo-China, 305; in Italy, 303; 
in Japan, 303; in Mexico, 305; 
in New South Wales, 302; in 
Peru, 307; in Russia, 304; in 
South Africa, 306; in Spain, 304; 



562 



INDEX 



in Sweden, 305; in Tasmania, 
303; in the United States, 297 

Geological distribution, 296 

Germany, commercial control, 311 

Industry in 1913, 299 

Position of Belgium, 313; of Ger- 
many, 313; of Great Britain, 314; 
of Japan, 314; of Russia, 315; 
of the United States, 313 

Production, 1913, 299; future 
changes in production, 307 

Summary, 315 

United States, commercial control, 
309 

Uses of, 294 

World situation, 533 



Zirconium 

Alloys, 210 

Baddeleyite or brazilite, 211 

Chapter on, 209 

Control of, 213 

Geographical distribution, 211; in 

Brazil, 212, 213; in India, 213; 

in the United States, 213 
Geological distribution, 211 
Production, 215 
Refractory uses of, 209 
Summary, 215 
Uses of, 209 
World situation, 531 
Zircon, 212 









/ 



. 





FEB 9-1949 












G ^ 










%lc* 


















v. % 










'%d< 



w w 




y .,# 


















v % 










^ 

%• 



1 ■ ^ 






cS> -^ 









•V 



* A 



^ % 



^ <*' 



^ o* 






.V* 



% 










*> 

<* 






• J? 









or <*• , 



\^ 






<&=. 
•? 



& 



& 



k * H 9*. 









%* 



■'..-'■■■ 






"%d< 



c> 



^ 



p..* 



>,# ■ %.^ 






% 















^6* 



-<eti 



°o. 






o^ 












1% 0< 


















\V 



* c 



•^ 



,# 



# 









, "Ci, 



& w ."%<? 



v v 






c5> ^ 



%<& 



c. 






; ^ <*» 



/ % 






jp 






^ 



•*-. 



' cP 



./^ ^\ /^ 



rf? %• 






%, -^ *' 









% ^ 



a5 Q, 



^ ^ " • „V /-» «.V ' ^ "/ 






% 









*> "^ 



=M 






^•v 



0° , . ' . % 









-.V" 



v 



«& ^ 



-s> 










rr * 






^ 



^d< 










■JS 









> % 



% * 



.«r 



^ 4 °^ 



V 



% 















/ % 



• # 



0° ^ 






^ 






* # 






», ■% 









V 






<-, 













\<&* 


















LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



n nn? a?a m 4 




■ 

■ 1 



1% t,) 

. I * I 

1 A 






■ 



I *V»ttf 



m 






■ 



I 



